tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-83732396847783699372017-06-21T22:58:46.757-04:00Franky Rousseau ... Blog.Franky Rousseaunoreply@blogger.comBlogger22125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8373239684778369937.post-49166146979082248822017-04-09T11:58:00.001-04:002017-04-09T11:58:32.417-04:00A sequence of events from December 2016 to April 2017<div class="MsoNormal"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-916DOW3mR_4/WOpYdCAgI8I/AAAAAAAABJQ/-2ICWq1CIcIyKMKHqPDRXwu8y-PfrR8mQCK4B/s1600/IMG_1789.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-916DOW3mR_4/WOpYdCAgI8I/AAAAAAAABJQ/-2ICWq1CIcIyKMKHqPDRXwu8y-PfrR8mQCK4B/s320/IMG_1789.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The best buttons</td></tr></tbody></table><u><br /></u><u><br /></u><u>December</u></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p><br /><br /></div><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7.0pt &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b>Produced <a href="http://emmafrankmusic.com/" target="_blank">Emma Frank</a>’s “Ocean Av.”</b><o:p></o:p><br /><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Vocals, compositions – Emma Frank<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal">Piano – <a href="http://aaronparks.com/" target="_blank">Aaron Parks</a><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal">Bass – Rick Rosato<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal">Drums – <a href="http://www.jimblack.com/Jim_Black_dotcom/hello.html" target="_blank">Jim Black</a><o:p></o:p><br />Guitars – moi</div><div class="MsoNormal">Engineer – <a href="http://www.brianhlchan.com/audio-bio/" target="_blank">Brian Chan</a><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal">Assistant Engineers – Phil Gosselin, Jonathan Kaspy<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal">@ Pierre Marchand Studio<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Xnq2aupI7qo/WOQU-_uq1zI/AAAAAAAABHI/jIsWLOnqeuUTUWsEPDj2wOh8TohJ6fBFgCK4B/s1600/Emma%2BFrank%2BStudio%2BPM-31.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Xnq2aupI7qo/WOQU-_uq1zI/AAAAAAAABHI/jIsWLOnqeuUTUWsEPDj2wOh8TohJ6fBFgCK4B/s320/Emma%2BFrank%2BStudio%2BPM-31.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pierre Marchand Studio. Jim, Rick, and Emma.<br />Photo: Brian Chan</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7.0pt &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b>Produced <a href="http://bradcheeseman.com/" target="_blank">Brad Cheeseman</a>’s next album (untitled)<o:p></o:p></b><br /><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal">Tenor Saxophone – <a href="http://www.kellyjefferson.net/index.html" target="_blank">Kelly Jefferson</a><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal">Piano – Sam Kogen<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal">Guitar – Rob Chapman<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal">Bass, compositions – Brad Cheeseman<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal">Drums – <a href="http://www.maritomarques.com/" target="_blank">Marito Marques</a><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal">Recording + Mixing Engineer – Robert Langlois<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal">@ Studio 270<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BJCI4CjCYuM/WOQV8pfzTUI/AAAAAAAABHU/xgrXh0niNGAfkro6LxJo8zd1kVPILAotQCK4B/s1600/15337191_799979886808914_3835252903082196992_n%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="167" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BJCI4CjCYuM/WOQV8pfzTUI/AAAAAAAABHU/xgrXh0niNGAfkro6LxJo8zd1kVPILAotQCK4B/s320/15337191_799979886808914_3835252903082196992_n%25281%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Studio 270<br />Photo: Brad Cheeseman</td></tr></tbody></table><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><u>January</u><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><b><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant-caps: normal; font-variant-ligatures: normal; line-height: normal;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span></span><!--[endif]-->Traveled to Japan to work with <a href="http://www.keiolight.com/" target="_blank">Keio Light Music Society</a>, Aaron Parks, and <a href="https://www.arthurhnatek.com/" target="_blank">Arthur Hnatek</a>. </b>Concerts in Kobe, Nagoya, and Tokyo. The program was a mixture of Aaron’s compositions, as arranged by me (including one arrangement by <a href="http://www.remyleboeuf.com/" target="_blank">Remy LeBoeuf</a>), and my compositions.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JsV3GFg4oVQ/WOQWd0uxp6I/AAAAAAAABHg/TjaCl9-aQjUhiRj4_rlO4j5NN9g1ir-PwCK4B/s1600/IMG_1607.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-JsV3GFg4oVQ/WOQWd0uxp6I/AAAAAAAABHg/TjaCl9-aQjUhiRj4_rlO4j5NN9g1ir-PwCK4B/s320/IMG_1607.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Before the Tokyo performance with Keio Light Music Society, Aaron Parks, and Arthur Hnatek</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Kbq3dTdN1cM/WOQXD4ros8I/AAAAAAAABHo/ESzPgfNXsBg-jMRA6PRhSNz4HnMjKSv_ACK4B/s1600/IMG_1589.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Kbq3dTdN1cM/WOQXD4ros8I/AAAAAAAABHo/ESzPgfNXsBg-jMRA6PRhSNz4HnMjKSv_ACK4B/s320/IMG_1589.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pachinko Aaron &amp; Arthur</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><u>February</u><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7.0pt &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal;"><b></b></span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b>Traveled to Toronto to finish work on “The <a href="http://www.fredhersch.com/" target="_blank">Fred Hersch</a> Songbook”;</b> I’ve been working with Fred for a little over a year, cleaning up and revising selected compositions of his, to be published this year.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-M3mhwzYB6V4/WOQXZiio3uI/AAAAAAAABH0/XbiF4hNVE4EjA5wgPD4gpxOoNou90x_FwCK4B/s1600/IMG_1640.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-M3mhwzYB6V4/WOQXZiio3uI/AAAAAAAABH0/XbiF4hNVE4EjA5wgPD4gpxOoNou90x_FwCK4B/s320/IMG_1640.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Toronto sojourn</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 18.0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7.0pt &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; line-height: normal;"><b></b></span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b>Played guitar for <a href="http://www.loftopera.com/" target="_blank">Loft Opera</a>’s “Valentine’s Night”<o:p></o:p></b></div><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hyZOHSqqpDo/WOQXcj8Pt9I/AAAAAAAABH8/yu_74oj3TEUtiCexZ7GQWh-iKU-emuw1gCK4B/s1600/IMG_1680.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-hyZOHSqqpDo/WOQXcj8Pt9I/AAAAAAAABH8/yu_74oj3TEUtiCexZ7GQWh-iKU-emuw1gCK4B/s320/IMG_1680.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My friends at Loft Opera are changing the contemporary opera game</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7.0pt &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b>Traveled to Berlin to visit and record with Arthur Hnatek</b> for an upcoming recording project of mine (which is constantly changing).<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-f-wu_gnKa_k/WOQX9vWUVuI/AAAAAAAABII/bn-N8SdUjPgVXhn2r3X5x8dB67QYGDAqACK4B/s1600/IMG_1712.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://1.bp.blogspot.com/-f-wu_gnKa_k/WOQX9vWUVuI/AAAAAAAABII/bn-N8SdUjPgVXhn2r3X5x8dB67QYGDAqACK4B/s320/IMG_1712.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Arthur Hnatek's home studio</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7.0pt &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b>Produced&nbsp;<a href="http://www.helloshyre.com/" target="_blank">Shyre</a>’s debut album.</b><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lFOOXpy9XW0/WOQYAMcwBBI/AAAAAAAABIQ/fiVuMGF0R784_9F4s1gpfhlktuej8vmkQCK4B/s1600/FullSizeRender%2B%25281%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-lFOOXpy9XW0/WOQYAMcwBBI/AAAAAAAABIQ/fiVuMGF0R784_9F4s1gpfhlktuej8vmkQCK4B/s320/FullSizeRender%2B%25281%2529.jpg" width="238" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sarah Rossy tracking vocals at Planet Studios in Montréal</td></tr></tbody></table><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><o:p><br /></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal">Sarah Rossy – vocals, piano, compositions<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="http://www.natalieyergatian.com/" target="_blank">Natalie Yergatian</a> – drums<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><a href="https://www.instagram.com/jonarseneau/?hl=en" target="_blank">Jonathan Arseneau</a> – bass<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal">Frédéric-Alexandre Michaud – violin<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal">Victor De Coninck – viola<o:p></o:p><br />Guitars - moi</div><div class="MsoNormal">Recording Engineer – Jonathan Kaspy<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal">@ Planet Studios<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><u>March</u><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7.0pt &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b>Arranged two charts by <a href="https://www.takuyakuroda.com/" target="_blank">Takuya Kuroda</a></b> for Keio Light Music Society’s end of season concert.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-bidi-font-family: Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria;"><span style="mso-list: Ignore;">-<span style="font: 7.0pt &quot;Times New Roman&quot;;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><b>Traveled to Montréal with Aaron Parks for a concert with <a href="http://onj-montreal.squarespace.com/" target="_blank">l’Orchestre national de jazz de Montréal</a></b> – the program was a mix of Aaron’s music, my music, and the music of Kenny Wheeler. <a href="http://www.lapresse.ca/arts/musique/entrevues/201703/17/01-5079720-francois-franky-rousseau-inconnu-bientot-illustre.php" target="_blank">Alain Brunet, the music journalist for La Presse wrote about me</a>. Alain is fascinating - he seems to know everything that's on the cutting edge of music, regardless of style.<o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -18.0pt;"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IL2qDR40pgg/WOQYZSjYW6I/AAAAAAAABIg/FDJSNrv1Ikky8A_gMXOLtIFYSGtWe2qlwCK4B/s1600/IMG_1859.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://4.bp.blogspot.com/-IL2qDR40pgg/WOQYZSjYW6I/AAAAAAAABIg/FDJSNrv1Ikky8A_gMXOLtIFYSGtWe2qlwCK4B/s320/IMG_1859.JPG" width="256" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Soundcheck with l'Orchestre national de jazz de Montréal and Aaron Parks</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><u>April</u><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <o:OfficeDocumentSettings> <o:AllowPNG/> </o:OfficeDocumentSettings></xml><![endif]--> <!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:TrackMoves/> <w:TrackFormatting/> <w:PunctuationKerning/> <w:ValidateAgainstSchemas/> <w:SaveIfXMLInvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:IgnoreMixedContent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:DoNotPromoteQF/> <w:LidThemeOther>EN-US</w:LidThemeOther> <w:LidThemeAsian>JA</w:LidThemeAsian> <w:LidThemeComplexScript>X-NONE</w:LidThemeComplexScript> <w:Compatibility> <w:BreakWrappedTables/> <w:SnapToGridInCell/> <w:WrapTextWithPunct/> <w:UseAsianBreakRules/> <w:DontGrowAutofit/> <w:SplitPgBreakAndParaMark/> <w:EnableOpenTypeKerning/> <w:DontFlipMirrorIndents/> <w:OverrideTableStyleHps/> <w:UseFELayout/> </w:Compatibility> <m:mathPr> <m:mathFont m:val="Cambria Math"/> <m:brkBin m:val="before"/> <m:brkBinSub m:val="&#45;-"/> <m:smallFrac m:val="off"/> <m:dispDef/> <m:lMargin m:val="0"/> <m:rMargin m:val="0"/> <m:defJc m:val="centerGroup"/> <m:wrapIndent m:val="1440"/> <m:intLim m:val="subSup"/> <m:naryLim m:val="undOvr"/> </m:mathPr></w:WordDocument></xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:LatentStyles DefLockedState="false" DefUnhideWhenUsed="true" DefSemiHidden="true" DefQFormat="false" DefPriority="99" LatentStyleCount="276"> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="0" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Normal"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="heading 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 7"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 8"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="9" QFormat="true" Name="heading 9"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 7"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 8"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" Name="toc 9"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="35" QFormat="true" Name="caption"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="10" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Title"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" Name="Default Paragraph Font"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="11" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtitle"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="22" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Strong"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="20" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Emphasis"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="59" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Table Grid"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Placeholder Text"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="1" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="No Spacing"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Revision"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="34" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="List Paragraph"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="29" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Quote"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="30" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Quote"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 1"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 2"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 3"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 4"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 5"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="60" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Shading Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="61" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light List Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="62" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Light Grid Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="63" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 1 Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="64" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Shading 2 Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="65" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 1 Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="66" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium List 2 Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="67" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 1 Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="68" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 2 Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="69" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Medium Grid 3 Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="70" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Dark List Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="71" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Shading Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="72" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful List Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="73" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" Name="Colorful Grid Accent 6"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="19" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Emphasis"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="21" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Emphasis"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="31" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Subtle Reference"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="32" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Intense Reference"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="33" SemiHidden="false" UnhideWhenUsed="false" QFormat="true" Name="Book Title"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="37" Name="Bibliography"/> <w:LsdException Locked="false" Priority="39" QFormat="true" Name="TOC Heading"/> </w:LatentStyles></xml><![endif]--><style><!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Courier New"; panose-1:2 7 3 9 2 2 5 2 4 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536859905 -1073711037 9 0 511 0;} @font-face {font-family:Wingdings; panose-1:5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:2; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:0 268435456 0 0 -2147483648 0;} @font-face {font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-font-charset:78; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:1 134676480 16 0 131072 0;} @font-face {font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-font-charset:78; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:1 134676480 16 0 131072 0;} @font-face {font-family:Cambria; panose-1:2 4 5 3 5 4 6 3 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:-536870145 1073743103 0 0 415 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink {mso-style-priority:99; color:blue; mso-themecolor:hyperlink; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; color:purple; mso-themecolor:followedhyperlink; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} p.MsoListParagraph, li.MsoListParagraph, div.MsoListParagraph {mso-style-priority:34; mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; margin-top:0cm; margin-right:0cm; margin-bottom:0cm; margin-left:36.0pt; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} p.MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst, li.MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst, div.MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst {mso-style-priority:34; mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-type:export-only; margin-top:0cm; margin-right:0cm; margin-bottom:0cm; margin-left:36.0pt; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} p.MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle, li.MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle, div.MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle {mso-style-priority:34; mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-type:export-only; margin-top:0cm; margin-right:0cm; margin-bottom:0cm; margin-left:36.0pt; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} p.MsoListParagraphCxSpLast, li.MsoListParagraphCxSpLast, div.MsoListParagraphCxSpLast {mso-style-priority:34; mso-style-unhide:no; mso-style-qformat:yes; mso-style-type:export-only; margin-top:0cm; margin-right:0cm; margin-bottom:0cm; margin-left:36.0pt; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-add-space:auto; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; mso-default-props:yes; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-fareast-font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} @page WordSection1 {size:612.0pt 792.0pt; margin:72.0pt 90.0pt 72.0pt 90.0pt; mso-header-margin:35.4pt; mso-footer-margin:35.4pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;} /* List Definitions */ @list l0 {mso-list-id:1842118091; mso-list-type:hybrid; mso-list-template-ids:-1137556528 1390946764 67698691 67698693 67698689 67698691 67698693 67698689 67698691 67698693;} @list l0:level1 {mso-level-start-at:0; mso-level-number-format:bullet; mso-level-text:-; mso-level-tab-stop:none; mso-level-number-position:left; text-indent:-18.0pt; font-family:Cambria; mso-fareast-font-family:"ＭＳ 明朝"; mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} @list l0:level2 {mso-level-number-format:bullet; mso-level-text:o; mso-level-tab-stop:none; mso-level-number-position:left; text-indent:-18.0pt; font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @list l0:level3 {mso-level-number-format:bullet; mso-level-text:; mso-level-tab-stop:none; mso-level-number-position:left; text-indent:-18.0pt; font-family:Wingdings;} @list l0:level4 {mso-level-number-format:bullet; mso-level-text:; mso-level-tab-stop:none; mso-level-number-position:left; text-indent:-18.0pt; font-family:Symbol;} @list l0:level5 {mso-level-number-format:bullet; mso-level-text:o; mso-level-tab-stop:none; mso-level-number-position:left; text-indent:-18.0pt; font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @list l0:level6 {mso-level-number-format:bullet; mso-level-text:; mso-level-tab-stop:none; mso-level-number-position:left; text-indent:-18.0pt; font-family:Wingdings;} @list l0:level7 {mso-level-number-format:bullet; mso-level-text:; mso-level-tab-stop:none; mso-level-number-position:left; text-indent:-18.0pt; font-family:Symbol;} @list l0:level8 {mso-level-number-format:bullet; mso-level-text:o; mso-level-tab-stop:none; mso-level-number-position:left; text-indent:-18.0pt; font-family:"Courier New"; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @list l0:level9 {mso-level-number-format:bullet; mso-level-text:; mso-level-tab-stop:none; mso-level-number-position:left; text-indent:-18.0pt; font-family:Wingdings;} ol {margin-bottom:0cm;} ul {margin-bottom:0cm;} --></style><!--[if gte mso 10]><style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-font-family:Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-hansi-font-family:Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;} </style><![endif]--> <!--StartFragment--> <!--EndFragment--><br /><div class="MsoNormal"><b>I will be writing with <a href="http://www.dominicmekky.com/" target="_blank">Dominic Mekky</a>.</b><o:p></o:p></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal"><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-enH_e3AhYR8/WOQYD4_xt3I/AAAAAAAABIY/lve5SvzKOlQ7lg2UTKI3ZZLUz8C7ZxEOACK4B/s1600/IMG_1772.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-enH_e3AhYR8/WOQYD4_xt3I/AAAAAAAABIY/lve5SvzKOlQ7lg2UTKI3ZZLUz8C7ZxEOACK4B/s320/IMG_1772.JPG" width="240" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Petey, my musical assistant</td></tr></tbody></table></div><div class="MsoNormal"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: left;">Records I spent a lot of time with:<o:p></o:p></div></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="font-size: medium;"><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="font-size: medium; text-indent: -18pt;"><div style="text-align: left;">-<span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span>Bach “Mass in B Minor” – John Eliot Gardiner w/ The English Baroque Soloists + The Monteverdi Choir (2015)<o:p></o:p></div></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="font-size: medium; text-indent: -18pt;"><div style="text-align: left;">-<span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span>Kanye West “My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy” + “The Life of Pablo”<o:p></o:p></div></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="font-size: medium; text-indent: -18pt;"><div style="text-align: left;">-<span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span>Wagner “Parsifal” Herbert von Karajan w/ Berliner Philharmoniker (1980)<o:p></o:p></div></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="font-size: medium; text-indent: -18pt;"><div style="text-align: left;">-<span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span>Dirty Projectors “Dirty Projectors”<o:p></o:p></div></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="font-size: medium; text-indent: -18pt;"><div style="text-align: left;">-<span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span>The Blue Nile “Hats”<o:p></o:p></div><div style="text-align: left;">- &nbsp; &nbsp;Tigran Hamasyan "An Ancient Observer"</div></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="font-size: medium; text-indent: -18pt;"><div style="text-align: left;">-<span style="font-family: &quot;times new roman&quot;; font-size: 7pt; font-stretch: normal; line-height: normal;">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</span>Thomas Adès “Asyla, Tevot, Polaris, Brahms” w/ the composer conducting the London Symphony Orchestra</div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div><div style="text-align: left;">-F</div></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="font-size: medium; text-indent: -18pt;"><div style="text-align: left;"><br /></div></div><div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpLast" style="font-size: medium; text-indent: -18pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="font-size: medium; text-indent: -18pt;"><br /></div><div class="MsoListParagraph" style="font-size: medium; text-indent: -18pt;"><br /></div>Franky Rousseaunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8373239684778369937.post-49324232457523011532016-10-13T20:48:00.001-04:002016-10-13T20:48:59.658-04:00Things That Happened in 2016.<div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: futura; font-size: 10pt;">I resettled in Brooklyn.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><u><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #454545; font-family: futura; font-size: 10pt;">I Took Trains.</span></u></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #454545; font-family: futura; font-size: 10pt;">Alright, get off at East Croyden. Shit, this West Croyden. It’s just me and one woman on this train, so I ask for her help.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #454545; font-family: futura; font-size: 10pt;">&nbsp;“Gatwick? Oh, it’s easy from here, I’m walking in the direction of the station,” she gestures, “It’s this way, you’ll have to take another train.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #454545; font-family: futura; font-size: 10pt;">She is a biology student. We talk about my visit to London, and Amsterdam before that. I bring up Brexit. She thinks it will be close, but thinks Stay will ultimately beat out Leave. She asks me what brought me to Amsterdam.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #454545; font-family: futura; font-size: 10pt;">“Well, I guess travel, and I also gave a concert there”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #454545; font-family: futura; font-size: 10pt;">“Oh, what do you play?”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #454545; font-family: futura; font-size: 10pt;">“Guitar, but I didn’t play. I conducted.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #454545; font-family: futura; font-size: 10pt;">“You’re a conductor?”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #454545; font-family: futura; font-size: 10pt;">“I wouldn’t call myself that, I’m terrible at it. I guess I’m a composer.”</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #454545; font-family: futura; font-size: 10pt;">…</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: futura; font-size: 10pt;">I enter the B train, having sidestepped the car ahead of the one I’m in, due to the threat of a backbeat – a subway musician playing a djembe. Two sentences into a short story by Alice Munro, I hear the “chang” of a guitar chord. Oh. There is a musician in this car as well. "Don't worry, be happy" – I don’t like being told what to do. Being told to… clap, being told to… wave my hands. Being submissive in that way - it's innocuously fascist. The musician transitions into&nbsp;<i>Three Little Birds&nbsp;</i>"...’cause every little thing, gonna BE (sung on an E) alright...” I can’t help but sing along to the words in my head, it’s inescapable.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: futura; font-size: 10pt;">Alice Munro does not use commas often. She really means them, they feel musical to me. She lets you know when to take a second, gives you the rhythm of the sentence, forces you to slow down. &nbsp;</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: futura; font-size: 10pt;">A (sort-of) F# is stuck on the subway intercom. I used to have fever dreams as a child, in which F# was the pitch that signaled danger, death, the need to vomit. It's an intense note, with heavy connotations. In the infantile world of C Ionian, F# represents an escape. The easiest, most pleasant sound outside of its universe. It is volatile. When heard alone, I wonder where it will roam. It doesn't scare me in D major, or B minor, but in G major, it's the heart of the sound. G major is basically C major caught in the act of cheating (no other keys have this effect; I think it's because of the fetish to C major most of us have as children). In these fever dreams, I get scared that I will never be able to leave these keys. But really, it's just an F#, I should relax.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: futura; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: futura; font-size: 10pt;">...</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: futura; font-size: 10pt;">I once saw a blind man at a concert, and spent a good deal of it watching his face. I remember it was a concerto of some sort. Maybe Rachmaninoff? I could feel his connection to the music, reacting with a perfect delay. A diminished chord, the trumpets blaring, his face a mixture of pain and pleasure, eyebrows lifting with a deceptive resolution, a smile with a V6/4 pedal. The resolution to the tonic, a relaxation of the muscles. I remember this vividly and fondly. A visual representation of the tension and release in music - in discovery.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: futura; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: futura; font-size: 10pt;">...</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: futura; font-size: 10pt;">&nbsp;</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: futura; font-size: 10pt;">Another subway musician. “C’mon baby light my fire”. He ends with what I would maybe call a Picardy third; we were neither in major nor minor, so does it apply? He asks for tips as the doors close, but doesn't leave the train, and instead begins to play “Blackbird”. He plays a single line solo in the middle of his rendition, holding a pedal point in the harmonica. I’m willing to admit that I’ve never heard those two gestures mixed together in that way. Discovery, on the BE train.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><u><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #454545; font-family: futura; font-size: 10pt;">I Composed.</span></u></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; font-family: futura; font-size: 10pt;">There's a precision of the mind that happens when I revisit musical material in the morning;&nbsp;</span><span style="font-family: futura; font-size: 10pt;">I feel reinvigorated with ideas for how to proceed with whatever composition I’m slogging away at - this feeling steadily declines throughout the day. Without fail, my epiphanies always occur during a morning’s first listen/playback of the music I’ve created the day before. It's like jumping into a pool. The first moment heightens your senses, radically changes the environment, the body and mind adjust quickly. Composing anything over 4 straight hours starts to feel like my skin is wrinkled from having spent too much time in the water. The water is no longer refreshing or cold, and I struggle to remember what that initial shock felt like. I lose excitement, and I lose clarity. There is most often a temporal dissonance in musical composition, in the time that the music will eventually occupy. As a composer, I can feel I've exhausted materials simply because it’s taken too much time to get them properly developed, and so I will look for an escape. The lasting relationship with materials is one that requires work, patience, and struggle. I wish this wasn't the case - I like to think that I am working hard at this, but there's a part of me that wishes I could be content to be lazy.</span><span style="font-family: futura; font-size: 10pt;"></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="color: #454545; font-family: futura; font-size: 10pt;">...</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="font-family: futura; font-size: 10pt;">I pace around my boss's house. I have been arranging the music of Aaron Parks for big band for the last few months. With arranging, since the material has already been decided upon, the question skips the "What?" &nbsp;phase and goes directly to "How?", and so I'm petting Roscoe (the cat) asking myself "How?" and feeling guilty that time is passing and that a great Nothing is being generated. The largest symptom of guilt is time passing. I wish I could have had a conversation with Rabbit Angstrom about this.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="font-family: futura; font-size: 10pt;">I a m &nbsp;a &nbsp; v &nbsp;e &nbsp;r &nbsp;y &nbsp; &nbsp; s &nbsp; l &nbsp; o &nbsp; w &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;c &nbsp; &nbsp;o &nbsp; &nbsp;m &nbsp; &nbsp;(p &nbsp; &nbsp;o &nbsp; &nbsp;s &nbsp; &nbsp;e &nbsp; &nbsp;r).</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="font-family: futura; font-size: 10pt;">(Sometimes, tho, the “what” and the “how” get mixed up and inverted, and then it gets REAL weird.)</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><u><span style="font-family: futura; font-size: 10pt;">I Produced.</span></u></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="font-family: futura; font-size: 10pt;">I have been producing other people’s recordings.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="font-family: futura; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: futura; font-size: 10pt;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oXcy70CsEKs/WAAp03zdhOI/AAAAAAAAA9s/F5WiioifOooVes-JqnmO8u1_MDy2HpmwQCK4B/s1600/The%2BLeeway%2BPlanet%2BStudios%2B%252831%2Bof%2B62%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1"><img border="0" height="213" src="https://3.bp.blogspot.com/-oXcy70CsEKs/WAAp03zdhOI/AAAAAAAAA9s/F5WiioifOooVes-JqnmO8u1_MDy2HpmwQCK4B/s320/The%2BLeeway%2BPlanet%2BStudios%2B%252831%2Bof%2B62%2529.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="font-family: futura; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: futura;"><span style="font-size: 13.3333px;"><u>I Lived.</u></span></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #454545; font-family: futura; font-size: 10pt;">My iPhone smashed when I dropped it reading a terrible article while in the bathroom. I didn't need to read it, and I learned absolutely nothing. I haven’t replaced the iPhone. In Sherry Turkle’s “Reclaiming Conversation”, she brings up addiction and technology. Though she thinks that equating it to a drug addiction is not apt (drug or alcohol addictions are obviously more severe health-wise), I am finding myself going through a form of withdrawal. Unlearning the mental habits I’ve picked up in the last 5 years of iPhone use has been a comical challenge to me. I’ve had people tell me about their retreats without their phones, which I guess I commend, but the circumstances are much different when one is living out their daily routine without a smartphone. I am awkwardly finding out what a terror my own head is, without anything to distract me from my own thoughts. I always took pride in not being attached to my iPhone, but having truly gotten away from it, I now realize how it has altered the wiring of my brain.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #454545; font-family: futura; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #454545; font-family: futura; font-size: 10pt;">So now, I find myself reading more, and listening more attentively when I'm being spoken to.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #454545; font-family: futura; font-size: 10pt;">…</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><br /></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #454545; font-family: futura; font-size: 10pt;">I will be premiering the Aaron Parks arrangements with Aaron as the soloist, and my favourite Japanese big band – Keio Light Music Society – in January of 2017. See you there.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #454545; font-family: futura; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #454545; font-family: futura; font-size: 10pt;">I should write here more often.</span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #454545; font-family: futura; font-size: 10pt;"><br /></span></div><div class="MsoNormal" style="color: #222222; font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12.8px;"><span style="background-clip: initial; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; background-position: initial; background-repeat: initial; background-size: initial; color: #454545; font-family: futura; font-size: 10pt;">-F</span></div>Franky Rousseaunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8373239684778369937.post-72171027322459978062015-09-10T13:54:00.000-04:002015-09-10T14:55:04.490-04:00"April"<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="281" mozallowfullscreen="" src="https://player.vimeo.com/video/136680392" webkitallowfullscreen="" width="500"></iframe></span> </div><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="https://vimeo.com/136680392"></a><br /></span><br /><div><div><div><div></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Sun and moon, sun and moon, time goes.<br /><br />Today is the premiere of <a href="http://soundsandvoices.co/" target="_blank">our</a> music theatre piece, and I'm sitting shirtless in my parents' house, arguing with the humidity, staring at my email inbox, to the backdrop of construction workers outside who are gracefully destroying and rebuilding the sidewalk.</span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /><iframe allowFullScreen='true' webkitallowfullscreen='true' mozallowfullscreen='true' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzEKj0k1_fbgjAs4IGcnpJbFUNni1FZJftW2PYf4_Q1VPwR32kWY4teySnXbdiBwpPZPA7QvOrl0OufUN7NNQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' FRAMEBORDER='0' /></span></div><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">They are efficient, I've been watching them work for weeks now. There's a childish instinct in me that keeps looking at that red Inbox button and mentally imposing that (1) from my immigration agent, as if it will make a difference that I'm looking at it; I'm surely making the Inbox button self-conscious. Could I achieve some sort of misappropriated and misunderstood Western nirvana if I stared long enough? I wonder what the tone will be, and what language they'll use. My fantasy goes somewhat like this:</span></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />Inbox (1) <br /><br />From: The U.S. Government <br />Subject: OMG! Get yer ass down here! <br /><br />"Dearest François Joseph Marc-André Rousseau, it is my extreme pleasure to inform you that the visa consulate in Vermont is so enthusiastic about the premiere of your 'chamber opera' that they've decided to award you citizenship for life!!! A helicopter will shortly be escorting you from Dieu Du Ciel in Montreal's Plateau, (have a beer on us, you deserve it!!!) and will drop you off in New York City's East Village for a quick bite at Caracas with all of your friends!!! Don't worry, all of the money you've been paying for health insurance but have been unable to use due to your inability to enter the country has been donated to <a href="http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/" target="_blank">charity</a>, and we've spoken to your landlord; he's totally cool with the fact that you were gone for so long!!!"</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">I'll make a witty joke about their overuse of exclamation points (something about American excess), high-five my little brother as we laugh and laugh about my joke, grab my satchel and guitar, and strut away with my earned American bravado (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JKG8ZxEOdwE" target="_blank">to the overture of Meistersinger on loop</a>), waving to all of the beautiful people lining the streets, bidding me safe journey ("Cheerio, Frank! Cheerio!").</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">This is funny for a second, until I look at that empty inbox, beneath Gmail's "Compose" button (which always feels like a scolding prompt, highlighting the fact that, no, Gmail, I haven't composed any music today). Still nothing. I then wonder who was assigned to my case, over at that giant processing center in liberal Vermont. I surmise it's a man named Paul, in his late 50s, with a wife named Sally.&nbsp; Sally and Paul love hiking with their two golden retrievers, a glass of Chardonnay 2 or 3 times a week (especially when Sally makes her <a href="http://www.applebees.com/menu/entrees/seafood/shrimp-scampi-linguine" target="_blank">shrimp scampi linguine</a>), their two children - Jake and Ken, who are both in college now - and reruns of M*A*S*H. I envision Paul opening up my application for the O1 "Extraordinary Ability" Visa, taking a sip of his coffee ("Good morning, Joan" he says, in the lower end of his lyric baritone, to the administrative assistant that's just walked in [Joan, that is]), and the first thing he sees is {"April" - a multi-media music theatre piece}.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">"We've got another clunker here, Joan"</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">"Another Canadian writing silly ol' chamber operas?"</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">"Classic 26-B rejection letter, coming right up"</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">All of my attempts to ridicule the bureaucratic process in which my future lies do not help the situation. I think that realistically, it's probably a checklist sort of thing, where the agents spend a few minutes looking over the application and see if enough of the objective criteria can be met. Standard yay or nay sorta thing. As I sit wallowing in impotence, I try to convince myself that the apparent apathy towards my ability to see the premiere of a work I've spent nearly 4 years writing is all in my head. Just another day at the office for Paul, just another day waiting in Canada for Frank. It's now too late to get word and catch a flight to NY to see it.<br /><br />...<br /><br />I've been away from New York City for four and a half months, after having been told that I would have to wait for a response on my new application before entering, even as a visitor. This summer was not kind to visa applicants; a glitch in the processing system provoked tens of thousands of workers from entering, and the government is still trying to play catch-up.&nbsp; I spent part of that time living in Toronto, where I organized a "large band" show, my first in Canada in over 2 years. I also traveled to London to visit my sister, and played gigs and recorded with my hero <a href="http://www.arthurhnatek.com/" target="_blank">Arthur Hnatek</a>:&nbsp; </span><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aec-4aaFnmM/VfGtbla8klI/AAAAAAAAApU/mvWScQE4uGY/s1600/IMG_0703.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-aec-4aaFnmM/VfGtbla8klI/AAAAAAAAApU/mvWScQE4uGY/s320/IMG_0703.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">The biggest Hnatek smile of all time, captured on camera!</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">and the indelible <a href="http://www.vincentruiz.com/" target="_blank">Vincent Ruiz</a>:</span></span><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><iframe allowFullScreen='true' webkitallowfullscreen='true' mozallowfullscreen='true' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dz5E_vQkU799rh882Q4XwIkx_mUdkH4iijZnxXSa1zjFs9UIE4VlthxSFxvzJxUkUWUzPZrOFY92PSzfu4hmA' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' FRAMEBORDER='0' /></span></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">&nbsp; </span></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">in Switzerland.&nbsp;</span> </span><br /><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">The rest of the summer was largely spent indoors in Montreal, working tirelessly to finish "April".</span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3UEyFZvkLBY/VfGqPMZsvdI/AAAAAAAAAo0/uCSj-bVK-RE/s1600/IMG_0042.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3UEyFZvkLBY/VfGqPMZsvdI/AAAAAAAAAo0/uCSj-bVK-RE/s320/IMG_0042.JPG" width="240" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Recording of flute and clarinet in MMR</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.frankyrousseau.blogspot.ca/2012/07/chamber-operamusical-its-public.html" target="_blank">As I've written about before</a>, "April" is a&nbsp; l o n g&nbsp;&nbsp; t i m e&nbsp;&nbsp; c o m i n g. The idea for it came from a discussion I had with my collaborator <a href="http://www.dominicmekky.com/" target="_blank">Dominic Mekky</a> in 2012, and has largely been realized with certain key components from that initial conversation still intact, others abandoned. It tells the story of a singer (April) who finds out that she is slowly going deaf, amid two crises in her relationships: one to her lover, who is also her manager, and one to her childhood friend. The piece functions somewhere between musical theater and opera, though neither word quite conjures up the right description (the questions "How is the musical going?" or "How is the opera going?" have always made me cringe). One of the initial ideas that has remained true to the original vision is the use of vernacular North-American English as the basis of the text, mostly eschewing rhyme or lyric. Normally, that would be taken to be an operatic setting of text, though the singing style we've prescribed to our versatile singers is closer to that of contemporary song. The natural projection of the voice itself is minimal, as they are mic'd. We decided to make the entire experience as intimate as possible - only three singers, limit how many people could be in a theater to hear it, keep the singers close to the audience, keep the experience under an hour, and keep the whole piece fluid and transitory. Not all of this was decided from the beginning, though all of the decisions showed themselves to be necessary as the piece defined itself.<span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /><br />The story was written by our close friend Samuel Bronowski. Sami’s idea was inspired by (but not based on) <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hlz1KlRM5kI" target="_blank">Douglas Sirk’s “Magnificent Obsession” from 1954</a> (a film adaption of the novel by Lloyd C. Douglas, written in 1929), in which a woman loses her sight after being involved in a car crash. (What a strange trailer, and let's be honest, that score is a ripoff of Ode To Joy). Aside from having the loss of a sense shape the telling of the story, Sami's creation of "April" bears no resemblance to "Magnificent Obsession" (in fact, the ending of our piece is essentially the opposite of the film's). As the piece began to develop, there was an amicable parting of ways from Sami's version of the story in the autumn of 2013 (with Sami's consent), as the emotional arc and palette of the music began to drift away from the form that Sami had supplied. The scenes in our libretto as it now stands are almost all original scenes from Sami's version, though we've altered words and intentions freely. It is now so utterly different than what it was in autumn of 2013 that Sami's version of the story can stand on its own, separate from the music drama piece that we've turned it into.</span></span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: white; color: #141823; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">The experience of putting it together, <a href="https://youtu.be/REqWBgEhU6w?t=2m55s" target="_blank">bit by bit</a>, has been the largest undertaking of my life, and could not have been realized without the indefatigable genius of Dom Mekky. Though Dom and I have our own compositional and musical tendencies, we have been symbiotically linked in forging our musical identities since we met at The New School in 2009. "April" is no more and no less mine as it is Dom's, which we know is strange. There are moments in the music that are exclusively Dom's, some that are exclusively mine, all of it approved, edited, scrutinized, and appropriated by the other. One of the scenes was constructed using an idea of Dom's, which I ran with, and subsequently turned over to him to orchestrate, which was later cut in half, and turned into "sound design" by Dom, which then turns up again in a scene mostly all by Dom, in a new key, with new altered orchestration, again by Dom. Confusing, right? In contrast to that, there are moments in the piece that were composed by the both of us staring at the computer screen, in conversation:<br /><br />"No, C# there, half note, going to a D, then the flute takes it..." <br />"How about E to C# then D, with the flute joining in on the C#?"</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">"Ok, and then we can go to G/B over the that word..."</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">"We should grab some beers"</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">"Ok"</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">"Is anyone ever going to hear this?"</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">"What kind of beer should we get?" </span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">I could not ask for a more dependable, dynamic, discerning, and diligent, Dom.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />...</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YG55B3ookcg/VfGqutbFT7I/AAAAAAAAAo8/nAT68lkGfv0/s1600/april_poster_small_ny.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="246" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-YG55B3ookcg/VfGqutbFT7I/AAAAAAAAAo8/nAT68lkGfv0/s320/april_poster_small_ny.jpg" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Show poster by Eva Neves</span></td></tr></tbody></table><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Sun and moon, sun and moon, time went.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Of the principal ideas that remained, the most significant was to have the music prerecorded, in an effort to control the sonic world of the piece down to the minutest detail. The ensemble was chosen very early on; the only difference in our orchestration from the first iteration of the work is that we had wanted one trumpet and one horn, which later became two horns. The piece is for 1 soprano, two baritones, flute (doubling on piccolo), clarinet, 2 horns, violin, viola, cello, double bass, piano, and sound design, all of which are layered at will (we did this mostly to the upper strings, as overdubs). The intended effect was to democratize the acoustic realities of these instruments and be able to blend them unrealistically. I can proudly say that this approach was effective and remains our proudest achievement of the piece; the process through which we achieved this was tedious and incredibly time-consuming. It was made possible by <a href="http://www.brianhlchan.com/" target="_blank">Brian Chan</a>, whose talent and vision enabled us to develop a unique sound that is as much a part of the composition as the actual notes. Brian engineered, produced, mixed, and mastered the music, save for little additions made in the end stages of the process. Asking this much of any one person is borderline psychotic, and it's a true testament to his craftsmanship that he was able to plot out such a huge project and make it come to life. Brian has huge ears (metaphorically; literally, they are average), and a sharp musical mind. I sat down with him in September of 2013 while he was in NYC&nbsp; for an audio engineering conference, and explained what I thought would be needed for our piece, and he agreed to take it on, knowing that the scope of the project would extend past his access to McGill University's facilities, as he was finishing his degree. "April" was partially Brian's Master's Thesis, having been pitched as a work in progress, which was kindly accepted by his adviser. We had access to McGill's multi-media room (MMR), for five full day sessions, and McGill's Studio A for two. This was an incredible privilege; MMR is as good as it gets.</span><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GH_RElYeKqw/VfGsDACYXjI/AAAAAAAAApI/v1MNX12yd_E/s1600/IMG_0055.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-GH_RElYeKqw/VfGsDACYXjI/AAAAAAAAApI/v1MNX12yd_E/s320/IMG_0055.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">ProTools session in early editing. We ran out of tracks over and over again...</span></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">Aside from the music, we knew we wanted an extra visual component, for which we enlisted <a href="https://vimeo.com/pierlouis" target="_blank">Pier-Louis Dagenais-Savard</a>. I had worked with PL on a contemporary dance piece in 2013 and have wanted to work with him on everything I've gotten involved in since then. Of all the setbacks we've experienced in writing the piece, PL's was the most frightening: on a drive down to NY from Montreal in August of 2014 for our first full-team meeting, an 18-wheeler's spare tire became dislodged and bounced violently into PL's car, effectively scrapping it. Luckily neither he nor his girlfriend were injured. As I write this, I've seen short excerpts of his work for our piece, but I'll have to wait until the Montréal premiere to see the whole thing. That being said, I know it will exceed my expectations - everything he's done has entranced me.&nbsp;</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">The question of who would be able to play April plagued us for years. We knew we would be in trouble if we went with someone who was too operatic or too musical theater-y. I ran into <a href="http://emmafrankmusic.com/" target="_blank">Emma Frank</a> at a Montreal Jazz Fest show, and she suggested we grab a coffee to talk music, during which she handed me her <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/ca/album/id983782" target="_blank">latest record</a>. Being wrapped up in "April" work, I put the record aside until I could find a moment to listen to it in its entirety. Three weeks later, I found myself heading out on a long drive, and listened to the whole thing and loved it. I kept the CD in the car and kept looping it in the subsequent week, when, during a passage that jumped from the top of Emma's range, down to near the bottom, I realized how clear and egalitarian her treatment of pitches across her range was. I remembered right then that she'd mentioned that she had a background in musical theatre, and the idea clicked. I called Dom and asked him to listen to her, and he said "YOU HAVE TO ASK IF SHE'LL DO IT!". We were worried that we would be asking too much, as Emma has a busy and ascending career, but she enthusiastically agreed and plunged right into learning the music. Emma possesses a rare kind of intelligence, one of constant and quick analysis and reappraisal of thoughts and feelings; she constantly has them swirling in a kind of vortex that informs and affects what she's doing. Emma's biggest concern in taking on the role was wondering if she was willing to submit herself to being April, meaning that she would have to embody someone befalling a personal tragedy, which would affect her own mood. Rehearsals proved this to be true.&nbsp; There were moments when she would have to stop singing to regain composure. Tea time.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">The role of Aaron was immediately agreed to when we reached out to <a href="http://www.danielellisferris.com/" target="_blank">Dan Ellis-Ferris</a>.&nbsp; I've worked with Dan many times on my own music, for years now. This was an easy decision for us to make.&nbsp; Dan understands, loves, and can sing in all of the styles we drew from in putting the piece together.&nbsp; All we had to ask of Dan was to mix the right blend of his capabilities for the role, and we knew we were covered.&nbsp; The only concern was whether or not he would be busy, being one of the founders of the miraculous and ever-astonishing <a href="http://www.loftopera.com/" target="_blank">LoftOpera</a>. The role of Michael is to be played by Sean Jernigan, who was recommended to us by another friend from the LoftOpera team - Dean Buck. Due to my visa snafu, I have not heard Sean sing, but everyone involved has said great things. Being that the work took so long to put together, the cities we collectively inhabited while writing it are: Brooklyn, Montréal, Vancouver, York (PA), Dubai, and Toronto.</span><br /><br /></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">The piece concentrates on moments through time that relate to April's degradation, physically and emotionally, as well as her changing relationships to Aaron and Michael. It is told in memories, imaginings, second-hand information; it is a collection of fragments that window in to different perspectives of loss. As for my unasked-for preparation and understanding of the materials, I underwent two major losses during the writing of the piece: the death of a close friend, and the end of a long-term personal relationship. "April" always felt relatable and personal to me, and though I would have preferred not to have gone through those losses, working on "April" gave me something to feed the energy back into. Having had the chance to work so closely with Dom, Brian, Pier-Louis, and Sami has been a great joy of my life, and helped me to understand loss and how I deal with it. I owe them everything.</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br />...</span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">There were more than 30 people involved in the creation of "April". Below are the credits:</span><br /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">"April" - a multi-media musical theatre piece</span></span></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Music and words by Dominic Mekky &amp; Franky Rousseau</span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Based on the stage play by Samuel Bronowski</span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Produced by Brian Chan </span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Engineered, Mixed, and Mastered by Brian Chan</span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Video by Pier-Louis Dagenais-Savard</span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Sound Design by Dominic Mekky</span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Lighting Design by Hugo Dalphon</span></span></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Cast:</span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">April - Emma Frank</span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Michael - Sean Jernigan</span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Aaron - Daniel Ellis-Ferris</span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><br /></span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The character “Lillian” was recorded by <a href="https://tinyhazard.bandcamp.com/" target="_blank">Alena Spanger</a></span></span></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">"Radio Host" was recorded by Arlen Aguayo Stewart</span></span></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Recorded in the Multimedia Room &amp; Studio A, Schulich School of Music, McGill University, Montreal, QC (from January to March of 2014)</span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Edited in Guy House, NYC &amp; May Place, Vancouver BC</span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Mixed &amp; Mastered at May Place, Vancouver, BC</span></span></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Musicians:</span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Flute - <a href="http://jeffreystonehouse.com/" target="_blank">Jeff Stonehouse</a></span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Clarinet - <a href="http://prontomusica.org/Members/BradleyPowell/bradleyPowellEnglish.html" target="_blank">Bradley Powell</a></span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Horns - Lyse Santamaria and Flo Rousseau</span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Violins - <a href="http://www.violinistamanda.com/" target="_blank">Amanda Lo</a></span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Violas - <a href="http://www.instantencore.com/contributor/contributor.aspx?CId=5142926" target="_blank">Jay Chieh Fan Yiu</a></span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Cellos - <a href="http://www.janeonsienchan.com/" target="_blank">Jane Chan</a> and Brian Chan</span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Basses - Alec Hiller and Steph Diamant</span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Piano - Dominic Mekky</span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Guitar - Franky Rousseau</span></span></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Chorus of Voices:</span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Ali Levy</span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Franky Rousseau</span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Maerin Hunting</span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Jon Kaspy</span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Dustin Connery-Grigg</span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Roxy Rousseau </span></span></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Additional Engineering:</span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"><a href="http://juliancubillos.com/" target="_blank">Julian Cubillos</a> - 77 Linden, Brooklyn NY</span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Jon Kaspy - Studio B, McGill University</span></span></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Assistant Engineers:</span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Jack Kelly</span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Alan Han</span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Gintas Norvilla</span></span></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Session Photography:</span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://haleywithers.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Haley Withers</span></span></a></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Richard Rousseau</span></span></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Media &amp; Website:</span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://airikk.com/" target="_blank"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Eric Read</span></span></a></span></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Graphic Design for Posters &amp; Programme: </span></span></div><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Eva Neves</span></span></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span><br /><div dir="ltr" style="line-height: 1.38; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-top: 0pt;"><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Premiere Performance: September 10th, 2015 at The Tank in New York City</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">...</span></span><br /><br /><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><span style="background-color: transparent; color: black; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: 400; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">We'll be performing it at the MainLine Theatre in Montréal on the 19th and 20th of September. Until then, I'll be looking at that Inbox button for a thumbs up from Paul.&nbsp; </span></span></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: small;">-F</span>Franky Rousseaunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8373239684778369937.post-50607122740310962552014-10-12T16:21:00.000-04:002014-10-12T16:21:34.633-04:00日本<style type="text/css">P { margin-bottom: 0.21cm; }</style> <br /><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zhcUviycQfc/VDrYwGa3ZmI/AAAAAAAAAY8/CG2pGAOH1k0/s1600/IMG_0129.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-zhcUviycQfc/VDrYwGa3ZmI/AAAAAAAAAY8/CG2pGAOH1k0/s1600/IMG_0129.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">I launch into the 26<sup>th</sup> year of my life (meaning I am now 25) listening to the Keio Light Music Society play the first movement of my composition “Hope”, off of their new record, which they've also titled “Hope”.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Tz0G2hCNzR8/VDrVAeXzalI/AAAAAAAAAYw/iN6ose4kAVI/s1600/IMG_0166.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Tz0G2hCNzR8/VDrVAeXzalI/AAAAAAAAAYw/iN6ose4kAVI/s1600/IMG_0166.JPG" height="320" width="240" /></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Tokyo – what a place... </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">What a shock of culture, of music, jazz, politeness, respect, attention to detail, so much... I'm afraid of seeming reductive in trying to write about it, so I won't, other than to say THANK YOU to KLMS and Jun for the incredible experience. For the music, the food, the people, the izakayas...&nbsp;</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GMLP1JwR10E/VDrY3X15nmI/AAAAAAAAAZE/wb8SD2Jr7lM/s1600/IMG_0281.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-GMLP1JwR10E/VDrY3X15nmI/AAAAAAAAAZE/wb8SD2Jr7lM/s1600/IMG_0281.JPG" height="213" width="320" /></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Jun, Hiro, Rui, Mickey, Keisuke, Shun, Reo, Ike-Chan, Maboo, YY, Shorty, Yasui, Yutaro, Nayu, Mai Mai, Kanako, Maho, Tacti, Ogawa, Ryosuke, Takehiro, Mr. Ohwada, Kana, Arthur of course, and to all that came out on the 28<sup>th</sup> of September. Domo arigato gozaimasu! Here is my favourite section of music from the concert – part of “If Your Wisdom Was My Pride”, written for KLMS this year (Jun Umegaki is taking the solo).</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /><iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="https://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=https%3A//api.soundcloud.com/tracks/171832005&amp;color=ff5500&amp;auto_play=false&amp;hide_related=false&amp;show_comments=true&amp;show_user=true&amp;show_reposts=false" width="100%"></iframe></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">For more on KLMS:</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><a href="http://www.keiolight.com/" target="_blank">http://www.keiolight.com/ </a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">-FR</div>Franky Rousseaunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8373239684778369937.post-28297956236538866612014-08-30T20:42:00.000-04:002014-08-30T20:42:41.575-04:00Le deuil, cont. <style type="text/css">P { margin-bottom: 0.21cm; }</style> <br /><br /><b>Whatever you do, don't think about A...&nbsp;</b><br /><br /><div style="margin-bottom: 0.5cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">&nbsp;<i>...</i></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.5cm;"><i>Excerpt from a music business seminar. A panel of young A&amp;R scouts for majors and significant indies. I sit in the back of the ballroom with J.</i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.5cm;">Moderator: So, tell me, what genres are you guys into these days?</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.5cm;">Cool Guy # 1 (with a posh British accent): I'm really into electronic music these days.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.5cm;">(Panel nods in total agreement with Cool Guy #1)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.5cm;">Cool Guy # 2: I was just at (cool music festival) and (cool band) played a set, and I thought to myself, "You know, it's nice to hear guitar-driven music that totally kicks ass, I think there's a void out there right now that needs to be filled by guitar-driven music".</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.5cm;">(Panel nods in total agreement with Cool Guy #2)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.5cm;">Me (to J.): What the fuck are they talking about?</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.5cm;">J. shrugs.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.5cm;">Cool Girl # 1: I think the great thing about music these days is that people are breaking down the boundaries between genres, like, I'll totally check out a band that has an electro-thing going on but suddenly breaks out into screamo. You can't really genre-ify that, and that's what's beautiful about it.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.5cm;">(Panel nods in total agreement with Cool Girl #1).</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.5cm;">(Me, to J.): I can't do this man. I have to leave.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.5cm;"><i>I leave.</i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.5cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">...</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.5cm;"><i>We were coming out of some office building one morning, with her papers almost in order, when Valeria, as she waddled by my side, began to shake her poodle head vigorously without saying a word. I let her go on for a while and then asked if she thought she had something inside. She answered (I translate from her French which was, I imagine, a translation in its turn of some Slavic platitude): “There is another man in my life.”</i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.5cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">...</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.5cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>The Future of the Music Business, the Spotify Model + its Detractors, and Why YOU Should Care!</b></i></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.5cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b>By G---- R-----</b></i></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.5cm;">(Excerpt # 6)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.5cm;"><i>Tech companies are now looking into ways they can tap into streaming revenue for the 4 billion (not yet bundled) pre-paid cell phones around the world; these phones are by and large not traceable to credit cards or data-mineable forms of payment, as they tend to be purchased with physical monies, and therefore companies cannot build up a potential list....</i></div><div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0.5cm;">(Excerpt #14)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.5cm;"> <i>Music in the 21st century is about access, not ownership - as far as growth is concerned, it's about reaching the clientele that will want to use the technology that doesn't yet exist. The markets poised to be the first targets...</i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.5cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">...</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.5cm;">I feel an anxiety attack coming on the train. Not again... Why do they call them attacks? They feel more like waves – you know they're coming, you know they're surmountable, which doesn't actually help you get rid of them. You know it's just Anxiety! Suppress! Not enough space around me. Nausea. The mind races too quickly. That time in Oregon when Mom and Dad parked the Suburban on a windy beach and we all jumped in the ocean with our rain jackets still on. There is a picture somewhere. Milou was with us. No, he wasn't. The smell of the red stairway during high school. <b>A</b>. Why? She'll call. She won't call. I can't write music. I'll never be able to. That woman's perfume. What if I need to vomit? I have a plastic bag. I've never vomited because of anxiety. This might be the first time. I doubt this, but 100% think it's going to happen. Atlantic/Barclays. You can get out, wait a while. No. Late for work. Mahler. Turn it off. Turn it back on, the conversation right next to you depresses you in a cosmic way you can't put into words. I love these people. Can't stand them. Remove the 'self' from your situation and you'll be able to process it rationally. Be rational. This nausea is self-inflicted you know. It's not real. You have control. Deep breaths. That woman's perfume. I'm incapable of being intimate with someone if they're wearing perfume. Well, not <i>incapable. </i>Pulchrum est paucorum hominum.<i><b> </b></i>Do other people have that? You haven't written a single bar of music that makes any sense. Breathe through the mouth. The perfume won't be as bad. I want to re-read Suskind's "Perfume", it was 10 years ago. <i>Nabokov argues against the view that literature should be read as representing real life.</i> Take pity on people who are unwanted. There must be something wrong with them though. Some people really are unwanted. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.5cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">...</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.5cm;">Two pieces of music I've written in 2014. The first:</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.5cm;"><i>T.L.I.N.A.F.O.S.* (That Loneliness Is Not A Function Of Solitude)</i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.5cm;"><i>Or</i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.5cm;"><i>T.W.* (Total Worry)</i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.5cm;"><i>*Things I learned while reading the first half of “Infinite Jest”</i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.5cm;">For Orchestra. (This was never performed; the youth orchestra for which it was written was incapable of putting it together, which was entirely my fault).</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.5cm;">The second:</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.5cm;"><i>If Your Wisdom Was My Pride</i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.5cm;"><span style="font-style: normal;">Written for and dedicated to Jun Umegaki and the</span> Keio Light Music Society in Tokyo. For big band. The occasion being Japan's annual country-wide big band competition. They ended up placing third out of 50+ ensembles.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.5cm;">~ 14 minutes in total. 95% of which was written between the hours of 5:30am and 8:45am from January to August. This is not sustainable, not ideal, not enough, not good enough.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.5cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">...</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.5cm;">I find myself at a reading session of Mozart's Requiem. After this is over, the conductor asks if I would be interested in singing Sibelius's “Tempest” for the American Ballet Theatre at the Metropolitan Opera House. Rehearsals, dress rehearsal, 4 performances. Very little music.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.5cm;">Sure.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.5cm;">Dress rehearsal. We cram into the back of the pit. I am behind the harmonium and the harp, next to the bass clarinetist. Movements 4-8 TACET for him. The harpist leans over with her pencil and writes “coffee” on his part, then hands him a magazine from her collection. The micro-moments of iPhone use during bars of rest are as impressive to me as the general musicianship of this ensemble. The conductor calls out “BEGINNING” and off we go. We don't see the action on stage (nor will we ever) but he is clearly synced up. The overture is my favourite part – Dom had shown it to me during his obsessive phase of memorizing Adès's “Tempest”. Did he consider Sibelius's setting of the titular storm? I would think so. I can see the harpist's sheet music very clearly. 3 bars until her entrance... and it occurs to me that I might get more out of the experience if I try to focus on other things. It's no use, I think of <b>A</b>.</div><div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0.5cm;">The whole thing is hyper-civilized – how can there be so much order and control in a roomful of a hundred adult humans? Do we bypass our default human condition when we enter these terms of engagement, of musical devotion for a set amount of time? And what happens when it's done? Are we then again capable of lying, stealing, cheating?</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.5cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">...</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.5cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>The Future... Why YOU Should Care!</b></i></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.5cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b>By G.R.</b></i></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.5cm;">(Excerpt # 35)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.5cm;"><i>... the companies spearheading advancements with regards to streaming services have much more to gain than the creators of the content upon which the entire business is built... large-scale profit margins for those who already have enough muscle to force consumers to use their services; Amazon has created a phone that grants the user instant access to millions of songs. Apple has recently bought...</i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.5cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>...</i></span></div><div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0.5cm;">T.: We need to send 150 copies of ----'s CD to ----.</div><div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0.5cm;">Me: It's only sold 350 copies so far. We've already sent out 100. There's no way this makes any business sense. Or any sense at all.</div><div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0.5cm;">T.: We know.</div><div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0.5cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">...</span></div><div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0.5cm;">Brian shows up for 2 weeks to edit what is tentatively titled “April”. We hold a meeting. Pier-Louis is there. There is clearly progression in my music, Dom's music. Everything is fine.</div><div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0.5cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">...</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.5cm;"><i>Excerpt from a music business seminar. A panel of indie label reps with serious credentials.</i></div><div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0.5cm;">Moderator: It would seem that you've all built up your businesses with a certain musical aesthetic, or a “sound” that your label is known for. Would you agree with that?</div><div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0.5cm;">Indie #1: Ya, I would say so. I think everyone up here right now is genuinely passionate about the music that they release, otherwise we wouldn't do what we do, and obviously there are types of music that we're more drawn to than others. We're all just trying to find the music that speaks to us and allowing the artists to make that music in the way that's most natural to them – keep in mind that we're harbouring relationships that are somewhere between a friendship and a business alliance, and making sure everyone understands that and is happy with it. The industry has changed so much since I began working in the 90's, we're now dealing with a whole new set of rules. And since we're all engaging in these new rules with a bit of trepidation, you can be sure that we're trying to do it with the music that we feel most confident about.</div><div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0.5cm;">Indie #2: In the first part of my career, I worked at a major, and I remember constantly having to be in meetings about artists that I didn't particularly care about. But that's what the majors are like. Slow moving ships, with certain people doing specific jobs, all in the service of a bunch of different artists and markets. Running an indie label means that you have the freedom to work only with the artists that mean something to you, and being involved in all of the aspects of the business. To continue with my “slow moving ship” analogy, indies are like speedboats by comparison. You have to be able to trust that the artists you're working with can handle a lot of the things majors traditionally take care of, but that you can offer them the freedom to make their own choices in exchange.</div><div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0.5cm;">Moderator: So it sounds like part of what you gravitate towards is working with like-minded people, and the musical aesthetic happens to line up with that.</div><div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0.5cm;">Indie #2: Ya, definitely.</div><div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0.5cm;">Me (in my head): Makes sense.</div><div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0.5cm;">Indie #3: Ya, and part of that is luck. I was lucky enough to start booking acts that were crossing genres in a way that nobody would have thought of doing 5 years ago.</div><div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0.5cm;">Moderator: The country / rap crossover.</div><div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0.5cm;">Me (in my head): No way. </div><div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0.5cm;">Indie # 3: Right now it's really at the forefront of music, and we're lucky that we were interested in that before anyone else was. It turns out there's a large audience for this mix of genres, and not necessarily in the traditional markets.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.5cm; text-decoration: none;"><i>I think about leaving, but don't, it is too good.</i></div><div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0.5cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">...</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.5cm;"><span style="font-size: medium;"><i><b>Future... Care!</b></i></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.5cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i><b>G.R.</b></i></span></div><div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0.5cm;">(Excerpt # 74)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.5cm;"><i>...legal appeal, economic value... foster competition in the marketplace... with a super-licensing collective... 75 million streams, $1500...</i></div><div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0.5cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;"><i>...</i></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.5cm;"><i>Why did I hope we would be happy abroad? A change of environment is the traditional fallacy upon which doomed loves, and lungs, rely.</i></div><div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0.5cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">...</span></div><div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0.5cm;">I am going to Tokyo. Keio Light Music Society have been playing my music for years; I will finally get to meet them. I'll be leading them through an evening length concert of my compositions.</div><div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0.5cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">...</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0.5cm;"><i>...he thought once again of his dream; he saw once again, as he had felt them close behind him, Odette's pallid complexion, her too thin cheeks, her drawn features, her tired eyes, all the things which – in the course of those successive bursts of affection which had made of his enduring love for Odette a long oblivion of the first impression that he had formed of her – he had ceased to observe after the first few days of their intimacy, days to which, doubtless, while he slept, his memory had returned to seek the exact sensation of those things. And with that old, intermittent fatuity, which reappeared in him now that he was no longer unhappy, and lowered, at the same time, the average level of his morality, he cried out in his heart: 'To think that I've wasted years of my life, that I've longed to die, that I've experienced my greatest love, for a woman who didn't appeal to me, who wasn't even my type!'</i></div><div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0.5cm; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: large;">...</span></div><div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0.5cm;">Mahler 1</div><div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0.5cm;">Mahler 4</div><div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0.5cm;">Mahler 5</div><div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0.5cm;">Mahler 6</div><div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0.5cm;">Mahler 9</div><div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0.5cm;">To do: Mahler 2, Mahler 3, Mahler 7, Mahler 8, Das Lied von der Erde.</div><div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0.5cm;">Relax. You have time. </div><div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0.5cm;"><i>&nbsp;À la recherche du temps perdu</i>. I think if I saw this, I would hate the person who'd written it.</div><div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0.5cm;">There's a lot of narcissism in self-hatred, so said D.F.W. </div><div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0.5cm;">Ok Peraltitas, here we go... </div><div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0.5cm;">-FR from 01/01/14 to 09/01/14 </div>Franky Rousseaunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8373239684778369937.post-21084221516715500582013-12-01T22:14:00.001-05:002013-12-01T22:14:34.761-05:00Le deuil <style type="text/css">P { margin-bottom: 0.21cm; }</style> <br /><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b>Thursday</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">I'm sitting in the bus station in Albany. The dreaded mandatory pit stop for most buses between New York and Montreal. This station is where busloads of passengers are required to spend 30 minutes in deep reflection while the driver rests and the bus is refuelled. This is what purgatory must feel like. It's an unredeemable place. This visit has already proved fruitful; our bus driver declared that the McDonald's was a little far "and besides it's pretty much the worst McDonald's I've ever been to anyway". I once considered using my sole $2 (USD) to purchase green apple slices in a moment of desperation and decided against it. Green apples (the worst variety of apples, sliced, but oddly not oxidized) at a McDonald's by the Albany bus station. Too depressing.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Reasons I haven't written:</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><ol><li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">I've recently fallen in love with too much new music to begin to know what to write about.</div></li><li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">I've recently become self-conscious about the way I construct sentences and overuse commas. This is to blame on the high volume of great fiction I've recently read as a result of taking the subway every day instead of biking (due to a leg injury). I am one of those rare people not playing iPhone Bejeweled on his commute.</div></li><li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">I've recently moved back to NYC and begun a new job working for people I respect tremendously. This takes up a lot of time. The rest of it is spent sleeping, cooking, doing the dishes, and waking up early to write music every day. </div></li></ol><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Today (November 21<sup>st</sup> 2013) is the one year mark of having lost Peralta. I thought about him every day since it happened. Though I haven't done it yet, I'll be erasing his number from my phone. It seemed impossible the first month, unreasonable the second, and so on. For a person usually not emotionally tied to dates, November 18th marked one year without having organized a concert of my own music. There were recording sessions, pieces of mine played by others (3 continents!), many gigs with other projects; none of them my own. These two dates have a lot to do with each other. The death of Austin marked an ending of my desire to run my large band and perform the music I had written for him.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">I had considerable anxiety about my lack of musical presentations until I realized that I was better off taking my time. Over this last year I've come to the realization that our musical culture has been cornered into thinking that a constant stream of content should be the norm. This is why aspiring groups are making videos on rooftops and parks and any unseemly location that will make us want to click their links- it has very little to do with music. It's attempting to attract our limited attention in the course of days navigating what seem to be endless distractions. Even musicians I admire are guilty of this (I've also been a part of these ploys, with no regrets). I will resist the temptation to <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/books/2013/sep/13/jonathan-franzen-wrong-modern-world" target="_blank">"go all Franzen"</a> on you, but I think he's right. Depending on how you view it, I'm fortunate or unfortunate enough to be in a position where I no longer make my living off of performances. This means that I'm able to focus on what I want to do – I'm not at the mercy of “money-gigs”, at least not right now. This is neither good or bad. As a writer of music, all of this means that a lot of time is spent in solitude working towards very specific goals instead of scrambling to have enough gigs to cover rent. I empathize with those around me that are in that position, as choices have to be made on which gigs to take, weighing creatively fulfilling gigs against financially fulfilling ones.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">The point of this all is to say that the passing of Austin made me think hard about what I wanted to say and do with the time I have to express it. It comes down to Sondheim making a hat, where there wasn't a hat before (see all of “Sunday In The Park With George” to understand my point). The whole premise is only worth it if we can give ourselves away to the task with the most genuine of intentions. Do I really need minor works of quasi-social-media (sort-of-but-not-really) engagement to get to the bottom of what I want to create? My personal answer is no, but all the more power to you if this is part of your vision. There's been an insurgence of this kind of artistic thinking since I began thinking seriously about music a decade ago. I'm convinced social media is the biggest culprit. I have two minds about this: some of my peers have gone on to receive attention they may not have had prior to this social environment, but I have a feeling deserved recognition is inevitable no matter the time or place. I'm more focused on the artistic intentions (or lack of) around me than ever before.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">“<i>Just as every lover at some level believes that he or she makes love as it's made nowhere else on the planet, so every artist clings for dear life to the illusion that the art he or she produces is vital, necessary, and unique.”</i></div><div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><u><br /></u></div><u></u><div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><u>Jonathan Franzen, from his 1997 essay “Books in Bed” </u></div><div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">The point being that the will to share should not be superseded by the belief that what is being said wouldn't be cared about were it not for the person responsible for its creation. That is the fundamental flaw in the intention behind a lot of the material I hear, which is the same as the fundamental flaw inherent in sharing oneself in any form of online representation (such as this fine blog). The reason Franzen's writing resonates so deeply with me is the fact that he was able to convey MY feelings in a way that exploited them – you feel the relationship with the artist as being wholly personal. Sami Bronowski satirized it best, appropriately in a tweet: </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i>"This is how I decide if a movie is good or bad. I watch it and I ask myself : 'How much is this about me?' " </i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Perfect! Exactly the attitude that pervades the world of bad songs. I've decided to stop indulging it, and in doing so uncovered what I think is wrong with this culture of “artistic intentions”.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">The man next to me is snoring. Woe is me.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">...</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b>Friday</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">I spend today tracking for my friend Henry's first album at Hotel 2 Tango in Montreal. Something about playing guitar makes me uneasy. A part of me feels proficient enough to contribute positively to the music, and the other part believes I'm just faking. I console myself with this quote:</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">“<i>An early tutor of mine in radical journalism, the late James Cameron, once confessed that every time he addressed the typewriter he thought to himself: 'Today is the day they are going to find me out.' ... I am consoled, when I suffer this very same apprehension, by the thought that the pope and the queen and the president all wake up with a similar gnawing fear. Or that, if they do not, they deserve to be doubted and distrusted even more, if that were possible, than I doubt and distrust them now.”</i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><u>Christopher Hitchens from “Letters to a Young Contrarian”</u></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">I felt like I could play better than what I'd been hearing in the playback. Afterwards at home, I try to read through Schubert's last piano sonata, which I would love to learn in its entirety, but I know this won't happen. I'm hopelessly bad at playing the piano, but I feel like my limitation may be an asset to my musical being in some strange way. I recently realized that I don't know a single piece of music by heart. If you were to ask me to play anything, I would have to play based on what I believe to be the general idea of the music (speaking strictly about notated music). This is a problem. Maybe there's a Mozart minuet deeply lodged in my memory, but even my attempt to recall it feels like an imitation. Maybe I really am a musical fraud. Why haven't I retained anything? I have less than perfect pitch, good rhythmic identification but horrible output. Harmony is what I think I know.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">...</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b>Saturday</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">In the second day of tracking, my opinion fluctuates between thinking my choices are valid and thinking they aren't. I have the thought while tracking that maybe part of my attitude stems from not having been at home for 5 months. The duality of feeling like everything is in its place (family, friends) but also that the rest of it all is stuck right where you left it, as if the story has to continue now that you're back. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">You: "But I'm 5 months older!" </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Montreal: "Not to me you're not." </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">I'm not the musician that I was when I was a part of this with Henry. I have a feeling the record will sound good, and I'm proud of Henry for getting to where he is now. All I want is to be able to give him what he's looking for. What if I'm no longer this guitar player though? Or even a guitar player at all? The frame of reference is too wide. Stephen Sondheim, Stravinsky, Louis Cole, Blake Mills, Brahms, Randy Newman, Daedelus, Coltrane. Is this asking for too much?</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">...</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">I bring this up in a conversation with my mom. She says it sounds like it's "le deuil".</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">F: "C'est quoi le deuil? What does that mean?"</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">M: "Tu sais quand quelq'un meur. Tu fais le deuil. I don't know the English word for it."</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">F: "Oh, mourning."</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">M: "Oui c'est ça. Tu fais le deuil pour certaines musiques."</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Peraltitas, she found it! C'est le deuil de certaines musiques! C'est une immense partie de pourquoi que tu me manques. I miss you because you allowed a certain kind of musical existence in me to live. I will not be a jazz player. I already knew that. I will not be a self-proclaimed guitarist. I guess I already knew that, but it's a tougher pill to swallow. So what's left?</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">John Adams wakes up everyday and the frame of reference is pretty clear, at least I assume. I've been writing a music theatre piece with two of my greatest friends for nearly two years. We go into so-called "production" in January. We know it's a broken piece. We would never make the same mistakes we made in putting this together again. Was it Ravel or Stravinsky (or someone else) who said that we never finish pieces of music, we only abandon them. Our piece is at the end of its rebellious adolescence and it looks like it's heading into its dysfunctional adult phase. What is there to do except love the imperfections for where they came from. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Today's session ended early enough for me to go hear one of the youth orchestras my sister plays in. This is exciting because I'm meeting Jean, the conductor who has agreed to let me write a piece for their June 2014 concert. This is an opportunity I'm incredibly excited about.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">... </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b>Sunday</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">I felt good about the way the overdubs went for Henry's session today; why do I do this to myself? I love the guitar – but it's my mistress, I mostly lust after it. Composition is my wife, through good days and debilitatingly bad days.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> I took a break in the middle of the day to meet with Jean at Shaika Café in NDG. She is the kind of woman I would have easily become friends with had we met at the same age. She is in her 50's, looks a bit like Joni Mitchell and has the Western Canadian attitude that I know and love. We talk of the orchestra's strengths and weaknesses, as well as the avenues we can explore for this piece. She is charmingly encouraging, and speaks with passion about what she does and what it means to her. This is someone for whom music has mattered every day of her life. She basically gives me free reign to do whatever I want to do. I will begin writing my first orchestral piece.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">....</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">I'm back on the bus, this time headed back towards Montreal. The driver informs us that it will be windy for most of the ride, and he'll do his best to not make the ride too bumpy. Nevertheless, I'm unable to sleep – nauseated from the motion.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">I haven't listened to my recording in a while, so I put it on. Some things I like, others I don't. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Arthur sounds amazing.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Austin sounds amazing.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Matt Baltrucki engineered the hell out of it.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">What the hell is up with the third movement? Why did I write that? Oh well. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Dillon's solo is so strange... I like it.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Michael's solo is hilarious, that's exactly what I asked for. He laughed when I proposed it to him...</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">The way Austin ends it (improvised) is perfect. It asks a question with that last chord (we feel like the penultimate chord should be the ending, but he extends it ever so slightly).</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">I wouldn't write this piece again. It's naive and jumbled. I guess that's a good thing – here it stands, knees wobbly but functional. I guess I made a hat.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">I delete Austin's number from my phone. He hasn't called; my rationality so badly wanted to be irrational. It still does. I can see why religion consumes the majority of this world - it's less secure to live in uncertainty.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">“<i>I know why we try to keep the dead alive: we try to keep them alive in order to keep them with us. I also know that if we are to live ourselves there comes a point at which we must relinquish the dead, let them go, keep them dead.”</i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><u>Joan Didion, from “The Year of Magical Thinking</u></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">C'est le deuil de certaines musiques.</div>Franky Rousseaunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8373239684778369937.post-59281720815671695042013-06-20T14:22:00.000-04:002013-06-20T14:22:43.365-04:00On Writing for Dance<div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YwdMv_sHLzw/UcM-yj80WSI/AAAAAAAAAMg/I_tEnVWsyJM/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-YwdMv_sHLzw/UcM-yj80WSI/AAAAAAAAAMg/I_tEnVWsyJM/s320/photo.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Collision Collective's first presentation</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">I've been immersed in “the dance world” for the last couple of months. Scoring this dance piece has proven to be a new kind of challenge for many different reasons. I don't want to bore whoever reads this with all of the details; only a few.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">We decided early on (since one of the members of the group, Carou, plays trumpet) that we were going to use brass with effects, along with pre-recorded materials. I now realize that this may have been a bad decision, but we've had to stick to it (no offense to the wonderful brass players!!!) There was an informal presentation of our work in mid-April which went well. Afterwards there was a discussion period with the audience, which is normal in the dance and theater worlds. I'm glad that's not the norm in the musical world... I can hardly stand talking about music with those that are close to me, I can't imagine what it would be like to have a roomful of people telling me what they liked and disliked about my music!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Having used up the initial ideas that interested me when the project began, their applications have because cumbersome. What to do with 4 brass players to create an atmosphere worthy of these movements? I still don't know... The musical problem stems largely from the approach I think many contemporary dancers take when they choreograph. What is the role of the music if the dance is not based directly off of it? Does it exist as counterpoint to the dance? Does it serve as an emotional tie to the mood of the movements? Is it necessary?</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">A large majority of the dance pieces I've seen in recent months have consisted of scores completely lacking in harmony. This doesn't devalue their merit, but if you know me, it goes without saying that harmony is why I write music. I do play and listen to a lot of music that necessitates harmonic stagnation; I love it too. However, when I think about music I want to create, it doesn't even cross my mind to approach it another way. I've found that constant harmonic motion is less suited to the approach our group has taken, since the timings are often not in lieu of the music, but alongside them. This is the most important realization I've made since this project began. Due to time limitations, it's looking like none of the movements will be choreographed to the music – only the opposite, which is frustrating as a writer, but maybe best for this specific project.&nbsp; I've heard it said from a few people that Montréal is the most avant-garde city in North America dance-wise.&nbsp; Maybe I'm a classicist, but the pieces that have moved me the most have been the ones where music is inextricably linked to the movements.&nbsp; </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTCIVAXDstk" target="_blank">This is my favourite piece I've seen so far while researching contemporary dance.</a> The fact that I love the music probably helps make it so.&nbsp; Those Ligeti etudes!&nbsp; I love the Jeremy Denk interpretations; my teacher believes they're not even CLOSE to the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H5tdK3LfLnE" target="_blank">Aimard ones</a>.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Meanwhile, I'm writing the piano quartet that continues where Peralta left off. He didn't write much, but there's a ton of thematic and gestural ideas to play with the music he did write. I'm hoping to finish it in the next several weeks – the plan is to get it recorded sometime this summer. While in the thick of writing, I had a recurring dream where I would run into Austin and I spend all of the time I saw him telling him he wasn't supposed to be there. I would wake up frustrated that I had used my precious dream time like that. There are 15 bars that he had fully notated, and as of now the entire piece is an exploration of those ideas. I have a hunch that he turned some of the ideas from this quartet into “<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5Z9n2rez1o" target="_blank">Lapis</a>”.&nbsp; I brought a rough draft of the piece to my teacher, who dismantled it and left me the good parts to re-assemble.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">I read David Byrne's “How Music Works”, having a hard time finishing Saul Bellow's “Humboldt's Gift” (it's a lot to take in). I've mostly been reading articles and newspapers. <a href="http://nplusonemag.com/what-do-you-desire" target="_blank">This one blew me away</a> – I have to put a disclaimer on this one, it's rated R. Absolutely binge watched season 4 of Arrested Development. Have finally been watching Mad Men – I'm close to being caught up. When I took Robert Sadin's “Special Topics” at New School, during the first class he told us there was no point in attending if we couldn't appreciate the genius of the writers of “The Simpsons”. Sadin said a lot of things I wish I'd written down; another good one was about how Mozart went to “tennis school” (alluding to how tennis players are required to train innumerable hours when they're young), and that we hear that in the music; not that it's good or bad - it's just true. Anyhow, I think Mad Men gets “it” right, but I'm wondering whether it needed to be explored across more than 3 seasons regardless of how good it still is.&nbsp;</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pEJuiZN3jI8" target="_blank">Watch this. </a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b>Notable music I've recently seen/heard (without comments - some of these I enjoyed more than others)</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Sufjan Stevens's “A Sun Came”</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Dom Mekky and Arthur Hnatek's Senior Recitals at The New School</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Devendra Barnhart's show at The Corona in Montreal</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">D'Angelo's show at The Olympia</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">"Gypsy" – The Jule Styne/Stephen Sondheim musical.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Sam Amidon's record release show at LPR in NYC</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Andrew Norman's "Companion Guide to Rome"</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Schubert's Fantasy in F minor Op. 103</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div>Wagner's "Tristan Und Isolde"<br /><br />Kanye West's "Yeezus" Franky Rousseaunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8373239684778369937.post-54450042901182943562013-02-22T14:50:00.001-05:002013-02-22T14:50:53.898-05:00A few things...<style type="text/css"> <!-- @page { margin: 2cm } P { margin-bottom: 0.21cm } A:link { so-language: zxx } </style><br />The grant for the dance piece was approved, so we're pressing on with that. Thank you Québec Government, I appreciate the investment. My American friends can only dream about the kinds of opportunities we have here in Canada for government Arts funding. That being said, I write this amidst the hilarity of #pastagate. I also have to thank the Québec Government for the laughs, and encourage those taking it seriously to settle down, this is definitely one of those times where laughing is the only appropriate response.<br /><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JLDAv5kY3KE/USfBMIq7SfI/AAAAAAAAAL8/GikdS5IPYRk/s1600/526581_10152533502690106_858998751_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="178" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-JLDAv5kY3KE/USfBMIq7SfI/AAAAAAAAAL8/GikdS5IPYRk/s320/526581_10152533502690106_858998751_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vanessa in rehearsal</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">I'm modifying the first movement of “Hope” slightly for the “Keio Light Music Society” in Japan. My friend Jun Umeki is championing my big band music over there, which I'm always thrilled about. <a href="https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?v=616437221704822" target="_blank">Here's a link to their performance of “The Facebook Generation”</a> at the Yamano Big Band Jazz Contest from this past summer, along with Jim McNeely's “A Single Sky”. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Ironically, I think the only way to see it is to have a Facebook account.... My plan all along.&nbsp;</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">I haven't been in the mindset of big band writing for over a year now; 2012 yielded one chart entitled “9 Lives” written in honour of Tom, my glorious cat of 15 years after he passed away this summer. <a href="http://soundcloud.com/frlb/9-lives" target="_blank">Here's a bootleg of it from the band's show at Resonance Cafe</a> in Montréal last November. The gain is sort of low, so turn it up...<br /><br />The recorder is too close to the saxophones, it's under-rehearsed, and the piece is about 50% good in my opinion (my self-conscious disclaimer). This piece is different than my other writing for this ensemble. I wanted to represent three things in it: </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><ol><li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">The intensity of watching my cat's kidneys fail him in real time (I solely witnessed the beginning of his body deciding to shut down)</div></li><li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">The grandiosity of his character. Anyone that had ever met him understood this badassery. </div></li><li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">The transition into death as my family sat huddled around him which was both sad and beautiful in its own way. I think this musical moment is pretty clear: I used the same notes as the famous repeated chord in “Les augures printaniers – danses des adolescentes” from the “Rite of Spring”. The last chord from THAT piece is the ultimate death chord. I saw an interview with Michael Tilson Thomas where he mentions that if you look at the last bar in the contrabasses, their divisi is D-E-A-D. I can't imagine Stravinsky made a deliberate choice in English (at that time), but I love to pretend like he did...</div></li></ol><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">In a way, I think this chart is a spectacular failure. I like it, but it's not very good. The more I write music, the more I realize it's HARD to write anything of substance. It also just takes a really long time. I'll save my thoughts about whether or not it should matter what the music means to the composer from a listener's perspective for another post. (This is my problem with a lot of songwriters and most music criticism/writing). That being said, I think I MIGHT be qualified to comment on big band writing in general, but probably not (2.5 years is barely called “experience” in any field). I only point this out because I've seen and listened to quite a bit of large ensemble music, and I think I've just begun to realize where MY large ensemble could continue to have a fresh direction. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">In short, the truth of the matter is that big bands stopped being cool arguably 60 years ago. Most people attribute this to the fact that dance music moved away from swing towards rock and roll. This isn't to say that there weren't amazing and innovative composers in big band writing after the 40's; my bigger influences for this instrumentation only really start around then until nowadays. I think a lot of composers failed to appropriate the sounds of their generation into their big band writing – for example, let's hypothetically invent an ensemble trying to play punk-big-band-music: they probably aren't living/breathing punk, so all that comes out of trying is a really bad imitation of the elements of punk rock music. On top of that, their gigs are probably at jazz clubs, with crowds that are sitting down, some of them informed jazz listeners, others just pissed off punk enthusiasts wanting their money back. There probably isn't a singer, so the “melodies” are played by saxophones (perhaps alternating between sections if the writer wants to be clever), and (assuming our writer is arranging punk hits of the day) the lyric component is totally gone. How punk rock is that? I think we're now living in a time that would embrace and be excited by a really inventive use of this group of instruments, but very few people are actually cool in their big band writing, further perpetuating the hybrids that don't really speak; “big-band-influenced-by-hip-hop-but-also-Carla-Bley's-music” with open sections that are improvised over with quasi-bop language. (Actually maybe that sounds cool, but for reasons other than what I'm trying to point out). I'm guilty of this too, but increasingly becoming aware that if we could re-contextualize the use of the big band, it would be welcomed by many curious listeners. Darcy James Argue succeeded with “Brooklyn Babylon” last year at BAM, hopefully they'll find a way to put on the entire show (not just the music, which is great on its own) in many cities.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">I frequently get asked what's going on with my “Large Band”. It's on hiatus for an indeterminate period of time. Maybe I'll come back to it soon, maybe not, unless the right opportunity comes up.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">In other big band news: <a href="http://hitsandgigs.podomatic.com/entry/2013-02-19T15_35_20-08_00" target="_blank">here's a cool interview I did with the Hits and Gigs podcast last week</a>. Dan Rougeau is a good friend of mine from my Vanier College days. I was asked about the writing and planning of "Hope", along with other great questions from Dan, Savic Panylyk, and Noah Sherman. Check it out!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">. . .<br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Dom, Sami, and I had 2 sessions reading through some of the material for our theatre piece. We had a proposed rough draft for a first act, and now it's back to the drawing board for what seems to be a 30% complete first act, and a solid scene near the end of the piece. This is also another one of those times where the only appropriate response is to laugh (and keep on writing).</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Lined up for March and April is some music with <a href="http://www.charlottecornfield.com/" target="_blank">Charlotte Cornfield</a>; she is AWESOME! </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">My friend Brian suggested I check out <a href="http://www.andyshauf.com/" target="_blank">Andy Shauf</a>. EVERYONE check him out.<a href="http://www.andyshauf.com/"></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">My friend Jay suggested I check out <a href="http://www.blakemillsonline.com/" target="_blank">Blake Mills</a>. EVERYONE check him out. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><a href="http://atomsforpeace.info/" target="_blank"><br /></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><a href="http://atomsforpeace.info/" target="_blank">“Atoms For Peace”</a>. Duh.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><a href="http://jeremydenk.net/" target="_blank"><br /></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><a href="http://jeremydenk.net/" target="_blank">Jeremy Denk</a> linked <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/24/magazine/the-extraordinary-science-of-junk-food.html?pagewanted=all&amp;_r=1&amp;" target="_blank">this article</a> to Twitter yesterday. Absolutely worth reading if anyone has a bit of time to spare.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">I'm living in a world between folk songs (for lack of any proper term) and contemporary classical music. When nobody's looking, I'm nerding out to jazz records.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">I saw <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j8OCuAfIO2g" target="_blank">Thomas Adès' “Powder Her Face”</a>at BAM last Friday. I know age isn't supposed to matter, but he wrote that when he was around my age... Jeez. It's hard writing music when you know a genius like that is out there totally crushing it. WWTAD? (What Would Thomas Adès Do?) <br /><br />I love when friends and strangers write to me about the thoughts and opinions expressed on here, please continue doing so!<br /><br />-FR</div>Franky Rousseaunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8373239684778369937.post-55897373975957060162013-01-21T15:01:00.000-05:002013-01-21T15:01:19.238-05:00Cold Winter Update <style type="text/css"> <!-- @page { margin: 2cm } P { margin-bottom: 0.21cm } --> </style> <br /><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Today is the two month anniversary of Austin's passing and so much has happened. I don't want to dwell on this subject, though I want to mention that I went to his memorial in LA and met his family and friends who surpassed all the expectations of kindness and love I had envisioned. I want to thank <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=90DSzVc7YJA" target="_blank">Gemma</a> and her roommates (at the “Goddess Complex”) for hosting me.&nbsp;</span></span><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ik9kpI9eEQI/UP2So61u0lI/AAAAAAAAAKM/dEekP-LzvSs/s1600/photo8.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-ik9kpI9eEQI/UP2So61u0lI/AAAAAAAAAKM/dEekP-LzvSs/s320/photo8.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></div><br /><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">I also want to thank everyone who wrote me with their condolences, it truly does make a difference while grieving. I think about him a lot, every day. Austin's best friend Jake Bloch has asked me to compile and finish a piano quartet piece that Austin had sketched out, which will be a part of a larger project consisting of his unfinished material finished by his musical friends. It's such a beautiful notion, Austin really does have an amazing <span style="font-size: small;">circle</span>. I recently came across the short-doc that Jake made at USC, which is incredible. It was just accepted into the Global Visions Film Festival here in Canada. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UQyifizyHSs" target="_blank">Check it out here.</a></span></span><br /><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">BTW <a href="http://thefrankyrousseaulargeband.bandcamp.com/album/hope" target="_blank">I've made the recording of “Hope” free</a>, I want everyone to listen to Austin's playing eternally.</span></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">On another note, one of my <span style="font-size: small;">greatest</span> friends Levon Henry just released a recording I played on called “Music For Trains”. We got together last May at this little studio in the Lower East Side to record this suite that Levon wrote for his senior recital at the New School. The music is so “Levon”, I love it. <a href="http://levonhenry.bandcamp.com/album/music-for-trains" target="_blank">Check it out here</a>.&nbsp;</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--Ydg6HZ6GPg/UP2TnTEZXUI/AAAAAAAAAKY/X-ErOuQsb9w/s1600/photo2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/--Ydg6HZ6GPg/UP2TnTEZXUI/AAAAAAAAAKY/X-ErOuQsb9w/s320/photo2.JPG" width="239" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Lee in studio</span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">&nbsp;</span><span style="font-size: small;">The band is: </span></span> </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><ul><li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Levon on clarinet, bass clarinet, and tenor sax.</span></span></div></li><li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Samuel Bronowski on tenor sax</span></span></div></li><li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Patrick Sargeant on alto sax</span></span></div></li><li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Sammy Miller on drums</span></span></div></li><li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Garret Lang on bass</span></span></div></li><li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Tom Csatari on acoustic guitar</span></span></div></li><li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">JJ Wright on piano/organ (he takes a breathtaking solo on “Mountains”)</span></span></div></li><li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">Me</span> on electric guitar</span></span></div></li><li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Dominic Mekky on sound design</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YnmTk5yb7HM/UP2T7q2U3sI/AAAAAAAAAKg/Fx8kBHJqu30/s1600/photo3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-YnmTk5yb7HM/UP2T7q2U3sI/AAAAAAAAAKg/Fx8kBHJqu30/s320/photo3.JPG" width="239" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">JJ and Garret</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">The narrator on the second track is the legendary <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Van_Dyke_Parks" target="_blank">Van Dyke Parks</a>. Pretty sweet collabo.</span></span></div></li></ul><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Last November I got together with Felix Del Tredici at Concordia University to record “Episodes For Felix”, which I wrote over September and October of 2012. The ensemble was:</span></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><ul><li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Felix Del Tredici on bass trombone</span></span></div></li><li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Dan Garmon on piano</span></span></div></li><li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Julian Gammon on piano</span></span></div></li><li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Lara Deutsch on flute</span></span></div></li><li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Krisjana Thornsteinson on oboe and english horn</span></span></div></li><li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Barbara Bentley on bassoon</span></span></div></li><li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Dominic Mekky on sound design</span></span></div></li></ul><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><br /><table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KpeKsUdEpUY/UP2UuOYFPqI/AAAAAAAAAKw/QS881aiN61c/s1600/photo1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-KpeKsUdEpUY/UP2UuOYFPqI/AAAAAAAAAKw/QS881aiN61c/s320/photo1.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Felix at Oscar Peterson Hall</span></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-me8ulDBtri4/UP2U2YxYZcI/AAAAAAAAALA/S6XK6y3rYW8/s1600/photo7.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-me8ulDBtri4/UP2U2YxYZcI/AAAAAAAAALA/S6XK6y3rYW8/s320/photo7.JPG" width="239" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Julian</span></td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VI6VR5DGFss/UP2UwliFwHI/AAAAAAAAAK4/NBe2-UHVAdU/s1600/photo4.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VI6VR5DGFss/UP2UwliFwHI/AAAAAAAAAK4/NBe2-UHVAdU/s320/photo4.JPG" width="239" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dan</span></td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dI6ny4lDya8/UP2U5BwkVCI/AAAAAAAAALI/zQIE4JY_Xuc/s1600/photo6.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-dI6ny4lDya8/UP2U5BwkVCI/AAAAAAAAALI/zQIE4JY_Xuc/s320/photo6.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Barbara, Krisjana, and Lara</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">I'll be getting together with James Finnerty in February to mix and master the whole thing, which I'll post for free download thereafter.</span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">I'm just about to begin the contemporary dance piece with the newly formed “Collective Collision” ensemble which consists of:</span></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><ul><li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">Vanessa Beaupr<span style="color: black;">é (dance)</span></span></span></div></li><li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">Laurie-Anne Langis (dance)</span></span></span></div></li><li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">Marilyn Daoust (dance)</span></span></span></div></li><li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">Carou Johnson (composition)</span></span></span></div></li><li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">Me (composition)</span></span></span></div></li><li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">Pier-Louis Dagenais-Savard (cinematic artist/documentarian)</span></span></span></div></li></ul><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">We'll be putting together a full concert-length piece to be performed mid-August.</span></span></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">Another new project is “Maerin”. My good friend Maerin Hunting (formerly of “Felix”) just had one of her songs featured in an upcoming feature film and has decided to use the royalty money to record her next album, which I'll be helping her out with. Look forward to some ingeniously honest and beautiful songs. Great stuff.</span></span></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">I keep getting asked if I'm writing at all. The answer is YES, though it's been the same piece for over a year now. The chamber/opera/musical/operetta is coming along. The first act is tentatively finished. We're hoping to be finished all of the writing by June...</span></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-y4YyohoqBAs/UP2V2CbgouI/AAAAAAAAALY/QpNo2MhHsQY/s1600/Screen+Shot+2013-01-21+at+2.23.38+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="82" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-y4YyohoqBAs/UP2V2CbgouI/AAAAAAAAALY/QpNo2MhHsQY/s320/Screen+Shot+2013-01-21+at+2.23.38+PM.png" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">Dom Mekky wrote that, not me, I just write quarter notes with the white keys</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">LISTENING</span></span></span></b></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">I have a new project that I started a little while ago: I'm listening to all of <b>Stravinsky</b>'s music exclusively with whatever recordings I can find on Youtube, chronologically. I'm up to “Renard”, and so far have only not found the second part of “2 Poems by Paul Verlaine”. Otherwise, there's some amazing stuff; I've taken to looking for versions of Gergiev conducting for the larger orchestral works. The most thrilling discovery was the film version of <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDQH_lFwgGA&amp;playnext=1&amp;list=PL578D02A176E76774&amp;feature=results_main" target="_blank">“Le rossignol” by Christian Chaudet</a>. Check this out, it's completely absurd, beautiful, and the piece is now amongst my favourites by old Igor. It's an attempt at getting through his entire oeuvre but I'm also a little perturbed at the fact that someone's entire life's work can be represented online both by the greatest symphony orchestras as well as modestly attended piano recitals, all for “free”.</span></span></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="color: black;"><b>Thomas Adès</b>. I had only heard "Asyla" when I last wrote about him. I think he's a genius, and maybe the greatest living composer I've ever heard. I saw “The Tempest” at the Met in NY, and again when the live stream was shown at the movie <span style="font-size: small;">theater</span>. Does it get any better than this?!?!?!? “In Seven Days” is the deepest shit. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g4PI34nKiJs" target="_blank">Listen to it</a> with the visuals if possible (done by his husband I believe).</span></span></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></b></div><b><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span></b><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><a href="http://gabrielkahane.com/" target="_blank">Gabriel Kahane</a></b>. His “pop” music is so smart it hurts. His “art” music is piquant defined. I have to hear more. His “Craigslistlieder” is dope.</span></span></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wc9Pq-Jbt4U" target="_blank"><br /></a></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wc9Pq-Jbt4U" target="_blank"></a></span><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wc9Pq-Jbt4U" target="_blank"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Brahms</b>' Violin Concerto in D major</span></span></a></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">READING/WATCHING</span></span></span></b></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">All of <b>P.T. Anderson</b>'s films. He's the baddest.</span></span></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;"><b>“</b><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Exit Music: The Radiohead Story”</b> by Mac Randall. I don't love his writing, or care much for his presumptions about meanings of lyrics or harmonic choices, but it's well sourced and put together nicely.</span></span></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;"><b>“</b><span style="font-size: small;"><b>The Myth of the Muslim Tide”</b> by Doug Saunders. Great read, he easily disproves all of the xenophobic and biased writing and attitudes that we're inundated with by “Muslim Tide” theorists.</span></span></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;"><b>“</b><span style="font-size: small;"><b>Moby Dick”</b> by Herman Melville. My friend Ali Levy told me that Ben Street (the bassist) believes it contains everything.</span></span></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;"><b>“</b><span style="font-size: small;"><b>A People's History of the United States”</b> by Howard Zinn. Another friend, Nikol Drewry, bought this as a holiday present for me. Amazing book.</span></span></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;"><b>“</b><span style="font-size: small;"><b>The Joy of Music”</b> by Leonard Bernstein. This was such a pleasure to read, it contains transcripts of some of his omnibus lectures, as well as several essays.</span></span></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">Just picked up <b>“Mortality”</b> by Christopher Hitchens. I have no doubt that it will be stunning.</span></span></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">Gigs with Bud Rice and Marc Beland coming up. The winter in Montreal is less pleasant than I remember it before having moved to NYC. I spoke to MTL bassist Dave Watts who confirmed that no one is really working in the winter here; people (with good reason) don't go out as much, so there's less music going on. All of the ambitious and exciting projects seem to be summer/late spring/early fall oriented. Everyone is hibernating, and I can't stand it...<span style="font-size: small;"> I'm biking around as much as possible (with a clunky winter bike<span style="font-size: small;">), <span style="font-size: small;">but I miss the NY winter biking, which is really just biking with a mild-weather co<span style="font-size: small;">at on and less <span style="font-size: small;">riders in the bike lanes.<span style="font-size: small;"> </span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-F2lM5QmBuR8/UP2XZRmTvcI/AAAAAAAAALs/CxjG2-NB618/s1600/photo5.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-F2lM5QmBuR8/UP2XZRmTvcI/AAAAAAAAALs/CxjG2-NB618/s320/photo5.PNG" width="213" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-size: small;">That's Cel<span style="font-size: small;">s<span style="font-size: small;">i<span style="font-size: small;">us</span></span></span></span></span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;">&nbsp;Also, a giant thanks to everyone that <span style="font-size: small;">came out <span style="font-size: small;">and <span style="font-size: small;">packed</span></span> Cafe Resonance<span style="font-size: small;"> for the FRLB show <span style="font-size: small;">featuring the Le Boeuf Brother<span style="font-size: small;">s and Arthur H<span style="font-size: small;">natek. I had<span style="font-size: small;"> a blast, band sounded good. Arthur is on tour in <span style="font-size: small;">England right now, and the Le Boeuf's <span style="font-size: small;">have a new record coming out that <span style="font-size: small;">sounds like it's gonna be AMAZING. I have inspiring friends.</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;"><span style="font-size: small;">If anyone needs me, I'll be inside, thanks.&nbsp;</span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="color: black;"> </span></span></div><span style="font-family: inherit;"></span><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div>Franky Rousseaunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8373239684778369937.post-68838750120656327942012-11-22T16:15:00.000-05:002012-11-22T16:15:21.833-05:00Austin <style type="text/css"> <!-- @page { margin: 2cm } P { margin-bottom: 0.21cm } --> </style> <br />Can't sleep, <div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Can't listen to music,</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Can't eat.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-f-iITAcWd-g/UK6S4jCLKlI/AAAAAAAAAJ4/e7AxwlMPeWE/s1600/Screen+Shot+2012-11-22+at+3.40.17+AM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="312" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-f-iITAcWd-g/UK6S4jCLKlI/AAAAAAAAAJ4/e7AxwlMPeWE/s320/Screen+Shot+2012-11-22+at+3.40.17+AM.png" width="320" /></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">I keep waiting for Austin to text me and tell me it's not true, but as it slowly seeps into my mind (and my dreams for the few moments I manage to nod off), there's an overwhelmingly dark cloud approaching that doesn't look like it's going to go away. I can picture him in front of me, the way he moves, the way he talks, and the energy that IS him.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">This is the person that gave me the strength to keep writing when I'd reached a tipping point in my first year living in NY; I had decided to stop. I vividly remember taking the overnight bus from Montreal to NY from Sunday to Monday, waiting out the 4:30am pit stop at the Albany terminus and thinking: “I can't continue on being a musician”. So I got in to the residence and looked up how to opt out of school a few weeks into the session. That Tuesday afternoon was my ensemble rehearsal, where I'd been placed with Austin and some other great and kind musicians, led by Andrew Cyrille. Andrew had asked us to bring in our compositions. I had been writing one specifically for the ensemble, as a tribute to my brother's ex-girlfriend who had passed away from a rare blood condition. I brought it in, and upon reading the sheet music Austin said “This is so dope, man! How'd you come up with these harmonies?”. We went to get some food together and talked about who we listened to, realizing we both loved Brahms tremendously. This began one of the most inspiring, life-changing friendships of my life. I decided I had a right to think I could be a musician, if only because HE thought so.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Austin and I would meet up on weeknights and grab a 6-pack of Pacifico (he would drink 4, I would drink 2), and listen to music. He had already recorded his 3<sup>rd</sup>album, which I had to beg him to show me; he had a hard time listening to his own playing, he explained. He managed to get a weekly gig on Wednesdays(?) at a Peruvian restaurant in the East Village which we played duo, playing free, sometimes with ideas he would bring in. The piano was out of tune, but Austin would remember which notes were truly unplayable and simply avoid them. We would go home and listen to more music until late. The hang was Austin, me, Dominic Mekky, and Jay Rudolph. Others who met Austin would think him very intense, I would always respond that geniuses are intense by nature, there was no way around it. I started to notice that those who claimed to know him, or had stories about him were wildly exaggerated and invented; here was the kindest, most engaging person I'd ever met. There was no banter or small talk with Austin, it was everything, oneness, truth, love, the widest scope of the human and supernatural experience, always and everywhere we went. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> He'd made up his mind to move back to LA. New York wasn't the place for him, though towards the end of the school year he was beginning to admit that he was going to miss it. We would talk about his first semester at The New School, how his impression of the city and the music was false and fake, all things I attributed to the people he'd first met. Musicians would cling to him, as if his being would somehow make them better. In a way, it usually did, but it was a one-way relationship. They were seeking something other than Austin as a whole.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Before the year ended, I remember taking him to meet some of my friends at Coffee House (Coffee Shop?) on Avenue A and 14<sup>th</sup> Street. Austin was seated across from Gemma Soldati. Naturally, his first choice of conversation was the cosmos, where Gemma negated everything he said for the sake of negation (something he didn't let slide). This sparked an infatuation from both Austin and Gemma, though it took many months to come to fruition. There was a specific hang on my girlfriend's rooftop where when we left, I remember Austin looking at me and saying “What's UP with that girl, man? Why didn't I meet her earlier. What a trip!” I replied, “I know, man, this is what you'll be missing when you leave”. Walking up 1<sup>st</sup>Avenue, he then yelled “WHY DOES HE DO IT????? BECAUSE HE HAAASSSSSSS TOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!”</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">In April and May, we'd seen each other essentially every day, or at least been in contact. One exception being that he was playing with FlyLo or something, and texted me saying he'd just met Thom Yorke, mentioning how nice he was. It was Austin-esque to say hello wherever he was or whoever he was with. When it came time to leave for the summer, he vowed to come back and hang/play. It was in September or October of 2010 that he came to stay with my brother and I. I had convinced him that Gemma wanted to see him (she very much did). I'd invited them both to a friend's show. It wasn't more than 2 minutes before they left together. This sparked Gemma's moving to LA. We kept in touch frequently as he began to get very high-profile gigs (he'd already begun playing with The Cinematic Orchestra in the Winter of 2009 I think).</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">After leaving the New School, I called Austin and asked him to reserve 12 days in December. I wanted to plan a big band tour, with him as the feature. He accepted, turning down much better paying gigs. I then spent 3 months writing music specifically for him, which turned into “Hope”. I remember when he arrived at my apartment, and we looked at the piano music together. I've never felt anyone genuinely tell me they liked my music than in that moment. He completely understood what I had written for him, he knew how to phrase everything perfectly, knew how to emote all of the subtleties. I've yet to come across musicianship like this since. The next day he spent perfecting everything, making notes in the score. Before heading off to the first rehearsal with the band, he said “Okay, I know it now.” The following 12 days have meant more to me than any other time in my life. Having “Peraltitas” on board, the whole band had power and energy unlike ever before, every night was different. The most notable moment came when we were in studio to record the piece. It was around 1pm when we began tracking the rhythm section. We played two takes of the major solo section, and with the second one, everyone in the room knew that was the one.&nbsp;</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowFullScreen='true' webkitallowfullscreen='true' mozallowfullscreen='true' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dzc9kLzJWzGa1XKBcEOLL-98tIuB-CzqCO80pZxKFkRhgVWo_bkTNoHvGEndVHlEESywF7UCQG3c5q0xP05yQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' FRAMEBORDER='0' /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">&nbsp;Later as I was mixing the record and sent him a draft, he responded with this:</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7CpmJK004aA/UK6Sfoy58fI/AAAAAAAAAJw/2BLHHJHGz5I/s1600/photo.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-7CpmJK004aA/UK6Sfoy58fI/AAAAAAAAAJw/2BLHHJHGz5I/s320/photo.PNG" width="213" /></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">I still think that's an incredibly special solo, but more importantly, the piano performance as a whole is truly deep. I don't know if he meant what he said, but it was (and still is) nice to hear.&nbsp; He played the moment as beautifully as it could ever have been played. I only managed to capture the second half on video, but the audio will always be there. I had expected to write more music for him, as I'm sure many others also intended. It's nearly exactly a year since he showed up on my doorstep in Brooklyn. November 29<sup>th</sup>. The last time I saw him was on December 11<sup>th</sup> 2011, I walked him down the stairs of my girlfriend's place to hail him a cab on 1<sup>st</sup> Avenue and 11<sup>th</sup> Street. I gave him a big hug and told him how much the tour had meant to me, and that I planned on doing it again. I'll never forget what he said; “Anytime, man. Anytime you write something, I'm down to come play for you, wherever.” How I wish I could have him come play my music just one more time.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">I can't say this enough. The most joyous and proud moment of my life was having Austin play music I'd written for him, backed by 19 of my closest musical friends. I have all of the recordings from that tour, I don't know if I'll be able to listen to them anytime soon, but I know that when I'm ready, his spirit will fill my head, the room, the planet. It's too strong to be forgotten. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">So as I sit in my room crying, waiting for another thought to cross my mind (everything else has been rendered trivial), I want to thank him for having saved my musical being. I'll miss him incredibly as a musician, but most as my friend. There are so many others like me. I could write so much more, but maybe that's for another time.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">I miss having him write nonsensical prose into his phone</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">I miss him leaving incoherent messages to friends at random times</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">I miss JONDY</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">I miss having him embarrass me while yelling in the street</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">I miss having him to drink Pacifico and talking about music</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">I miss Austin.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">-FR</div>Franky Rousseaunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8373239684778369937.post-67879887339980531022012-10-16T00:26:00.000-04:002012-10-16T00:26:08.684-04:00If I wasn't myself and checked this blog frequently, I'd be disappointed <style type="text/css"> <!-- @page { margin: 2cm } P { margin-bottom: 0.21cm } A:link { so-language: zxx } --> </style> <br /><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">I confronted a friend about his infrequent blog posts, he shot back with “You're just as bad”. I'm just as bad.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Since the last post:</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">I went to Vancouver and Northern California. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Played a lot of gigs.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><a href="http://jasonstein.bandcamp.com/album/harbour-boats-ep" target="_blank"><br /></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><a href="http://jasonstein.bandcamp.com/album/harbour-boats-ep" target="_blank">Jason Stein's “Harbour Boats” EP came out</a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Spent a lot of time writing very little music. The musical/chamber opera is cooking at the tempo you'd expect from a back-burner. It's cooking nonetheless. I'm nearly finished the “Concerto for Felix” though it's now really “Episodes for Felix”. Bass trombone, flute, oboe, english horn, bassoon, 2 pianos, and electronics. We'll be recording at Concordia University in a month.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">I'm in the process of sporadically recording a song with Maerin Hunting's band “Felix” (lotta Felix's in my life right now) with Brian Chan engineering/producing/mixing/etc.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b>COMING UP</b> is something I'm excited about. I'm bringing <a href="http://www.leboeufbrothers.com/" target="_blank">Remy and Pascal Leboeuf</a>up to Montreal to be featured in my “Large Band” on November 17<sup>th</sup>! I'm also bringing up Arthur Hnatek since I can't live without him. My brother will be joining us on bass as well, along with the Tom Csatari band to open up (Eric Read on drums, Levon Henry on tenor sax). We'll be performing at the “Resonance Cafe” on Fairmount and Parc Avenue, a brand new venue/cafe that a friend of mine Martin Heslop just opened up. Writing a new chart for the occasion, the first one since I wrote <a href="http://thefrankyrousseaulargeband.bandcamp.com/album/hope" target="_blank">“Hope”</a>.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">My place got broken into last week. He/she/they stole my two laptops, my wallet, sunglasses, my roommates 2 cameras and a few pairs of his glasses. I think I have most of my scores and recordings backed up or at least somewhere on many friends' hard drives, which is reassuring. They didn't steal my guitars, which was nice of them. And luckily the first season of Louie was backed up in my iTunes purchases. It's not ALL bad. (I've since shrugged off the frustration and tried to be at peace with myself and them).</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><u><b><br /></b></u></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><u><b>Notable Live Events:</b></u></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">NYC Ballet Company – they performed Stravinsky's “Duo Concertante”, part of Arvo Part's “Fratres”, a silent ballet, and John Adams' “Hallelujah Junction”. Christopher Wheeldon choreographed the Part piece, can't remember the others...</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Flying Lotus – Beautiful projections. (I think) I like listening to electronic music at home better than live, strangely enough.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><u><b><br /></b></u></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><u><b>Composers/Recordings:</b></u></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fAv5QdOa-Ug" target="_blank">Nico Muhly – Gait</a>&nbsp;</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Timothy Andres – samples on his websites. GREAT composer. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g96tH1m0MsM" target="_blank">Appropriation of Mozart's 26th piano concerto is really inventive.</a> I've thought about doing something similar using only the exact rhythms of an existing composition. My friend Arthur Hnatek is studying with him now. (Arthur is doing a two week tour with Tigran Hamasyan in November. He's growing up so fast... Two mentions in one blog post. A record.)&nbsp;<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g96tH1m0MsM"></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Webern's “Passacaglia” Op. 1. Thanks to Dom Mekky for showing it to me.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">The Ravel Piano Trio, also thanks to Dom. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Thomas Ades. I have to listen more, but I like what I've heard.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Tons of Steve Reich</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Fell in love with Sondheim's “Sunday in the Park With George”. I've never heard anyone sing any character of Sondheim's better than Bernadette Peters.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><u><b><br /></b></u></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><u><b>Books*:</b></u></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Stravinsky “An Autobiography” (1934)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Steinbeck “Cannery Row”</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Re-reading Hitchens' “Hitch-22” and “Letters To A Young Contrarian” (I love the way he uses the English language, I should buy another book of his)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">*Sadly very little. I guess I've been reading WAY too many newspaper articles, not enough fiction.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">It's hard to write about isolated events from such a large time frame. Sorry Dillon, I can't write about your music for legal reasons.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div>Franky Rousseaunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8373239684778369937.post-65416639528433160102012-07-18T01:08:00.000-04:002012-07-25T11:37:57.383-04:00Chamber Opera/Musical - It's Public<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br /><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vdlxDyXjnqE/UAY-h2adlDI/AAAAAAAAAJQ/BG39hWQjVO0/s1600/Screen+shot+2012-07-17+at+10.50.47+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="116" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-vdlxDyXjnqE/UAY-h2adlDI/AAAAAAAAAJQ/BG39hWQjVO0/s400/Screen+shot+2012-07-17+at+10.50.47+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">It's been over two months since the last post. A lot has happened.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">I released my recording. I went to Italy for a bit. I moved back to Montreal (sort of). I played numerous gigs with Jonathan Roy, “Felix”, Bud Rice, quite a few odd-job gigs (funk music at the entrance of the Montreal CFL football games?!), recorded with the Jason Stein Project, played a bitter/sweet gig at the Tea Lounge with the Large Band.&nbsp;</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_WAXSfbQcB0/UAY_hmxjqeI/AAAAAAAAAJg/8RmpT_MdDpI/s1600/photo-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_WAXSfbQcB0/UAY_hmxjqeI/AAAAAAAAAJg/8RmpT_MdDpI/s320/photo-1.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">FRLB at the Tea Lounge. Great turnout. Shaky performance...</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">I've been meeting with Carou Johnson and 2 wonderfully inspired dancers Laurie-Anne Langis and Vanessa Beaupré about contemporary dance/music performances for the spring. I've also been meeting with Felix Del Tredici about a bass trombone “concerto” we'll be working on together. The Montreal Jazz Fest came and went. I've been asked by my good friend Jun Umeki and his band to send one of my charts that they'll be performing at the Yamano big band competition in Japan.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">But what I've REALLY been doing is working on this:</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QoATa4upbEo/UAY_M5pq6CI/AAAAAAAAAJY/8RRNGSPfFD4/s1600/Screen+shot+2012-07-17+at+9.58.30+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="298" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QoATa4upbEo/UAY_M5pq6CI/AAAAAAAAAJY/8RRNGSPfFD4/s400/Screen+shot+2012-07-17+at+9.58.30+PM.png" width="400" /></a></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Along with Sami Bronowski and Dom Mekky, I've taken to calling it a chamber opera/musical. We started working on it in January and had gone through a lot of PRE-rough-draft writing to find the sound and solidify the plot/characters. We're now working on the piano reduction + vocal score. 2 males, 2 females, and 5 speakers/amplifiers throughout the stage. The instruments (which will be pre-recorded as a compositional CHOICE) will be piano, bass, cello, viola, violin, french horn, trumpet, clarinet, flute, and lots of electronics. We intend to premiere it in Montreal sometime in 2013 (I think Spring?). We're basically stealing from Stephen Sondheim, minus dialogue, writing in a contemporary singing style (not operatic or Broadway, more folk-like), and no dance/choreography. It's everything I want music theatre to be, which is almost always ruined for me by one of these elements. Now that it's public, we actually have to go through with it...</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b>NOTABLE LISTENING/READING/THOUGHTS</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b><i>LIVE</i> </b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Joe Henry and Lisa Hannigan in Montreal on June 11<sup>th</sup>.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Kneebody in Montreal on July 1<sup>st</sup>. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Aaron Goldberg, Rick Rosato, and Obed Calvaire in Montreal on July 4<sup>th</sup>.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i><b>BOOKS</b></i> </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Re-reading Jonathan Franzen's “Freedom”</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i><span style="font-style: normal;">Jean Chrétien's “My Years as Prime Minister”</span></i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i><span style="font-style: normal;"><i><b>RECORDED</b></i> </span></i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i><span style="font-style: normal;">Stephen Sondheim - “Passion”</span></i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i><span style="font-style: normal;">Jeremy Denk - “Ligeti/Beethoven”</span></i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i><span style="font-style: normal;">Mark Guiliana - “Beat Music”</span></i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i><span style="font-style: normal;">Brad Mehldau Trio - “Ode”</span></i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i><span style="font-style: normal;">Sam Amidon - “I See The Sign”</span></i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i><span style="font-style: normal;">John Adams - “Son of Chamber Symphony”</span></i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i><span style="font-style: normal;">Norah Jones - “Little Broken Hearts”</span></i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i><span style="font-style: normal;">Béla Bartók - “Piano Concerto #1”</span></i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i><span style="font-style: normal;">Nico Muhly - “Seeing is Believing”</span></i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i><span style="font-style: normal;">As the whole Emily White – NPR / David Lowery article went viral, I manically got back into my mental debate about copyright/recorded music and our culture. Especially after having released something I'm finally proud of (for now...) I wonder what, in the context of my music making, all of this means. I've seen some REALLY poor arguments on both sides of the debate. Robert Levine is now my go-to guy for all things concerning copyright law, understanding how we got into this mess, and how we can get out. Anyone who's spent time with me knows I've been following this for a while now.</span></i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i><span style="font-style: normal;">On that note, my record is still <a href="http://thefrankyrousseaulargeband.bandcamp.com/album/hope" target="_blank">here</a>. Or on Itunes if you feel like giving Apple more of your money, and less to me. Or on Spotify/Bandcamp to stream if that's how you roll. I made the choice for them to be there, listen away! Thanks to all of you who have bought and listened to the album, and thank you all for the kind words!!!</span></i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i><span style="font-style: normal;"><br /></span></i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i><span style="font-style: normal;">-FR </span></i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i><span style="font-style: normal;"><br /></span></i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i><span style="font-style: normal;"><br /></span></i></div>Franky Rousseaunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8373239684778369937.post-35621075772929250012012-05-09T15:48:00.000-04:002012-05-09T15:48:42.665-04:00A COMPANION TO THE RECORDING!<style type="text/css"> <!-- @page { margin: 2cm } P { margin-bottom: 0.21cm } --></style><i>I'm currently sitting in my Brooklyn apartment during one of my last days as a resident of Windsor Terrace for 2012. I'm “moving back” to Montreal at the beginning of June for what I think will only be a year. The band is performing on May 12<sup>th</sup> at “The South 5<sup>th</sup> Collective” in Williamsburg to celebrate the imminent release of the recording that I've been working on since September. The finalized mixes have been sent to the mastering engineer (Nate Wood) and should be ready next week! I've been meaning to write a companion text to the music for quite some time now, and it seems fitting that it should be on this blog (albeit a little out of sync with the actual release...)</i><br /><br /><i>Here is a preview of part of the first movement of "Hope", un-mastered, so crank it up!!!</i><br /><br /><br /><iframe frameborder="no" height="166" scrolling="no" src="http://w.soundcloud.com/player/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fapi.soundcloud.com%2Ftracks%2F45852206&amp;show_artwork=true" width="100%"></iframe><br /><br /><br />The idea for “Hope” began almost a year ago today as I was finishing my bachelor's degree at The New School. I had already decided to spend another year living in Brooklyn composing and playing music, and prepared my first “tour” as a leader with the big band, with many uncertainties overshadowed by confidence. I had been asked by my father to join him for part of a bike ride across Canada with the “National Bank” in order to raise funds for “Free The Children”, a Canadian non-profit founded by Craig Kielburger. I immediately agreed and began thinking of ways I could contribute to the cause. After succeeding with the first tour, I realized that with a few months' planning and writing I could pull it off on a larger scale; I would write a piece based on the experience and take it on the road with my band speaking about FTC, record the piece and release it, donating part of every sale to “The Big Dreamer's Fund” (the program started by the National Bank to match fundraising efforts by Canadian children helping other children locally, nationally, and internationally). I'm thrilled to say that all of this has now happened, my expectations having been surpassed on every level.<br /><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">My portion of the bike tour was spent in British Columbia from Victoria to Vernon over 6 days in September of 2011. I began collecting ideas that could potentially be used in the piece while on the trip, ranging from literal musical translations of my surroundings (i.e. the first 2 notes of the piece are B.C.) to more broad interpretations of the experience and how I could relate it to Craig's organization. On the third day of riding there was a climb from <i>Hope</i> to <i>Manning Park</i>, an intense 95 km ride with a total elevation of 4400 feet. I felt that the physical experience of riding solely uphill for hours from a small town called “Hope” engulfed by mountains had an abstract kinship with FTC's work. I got in contact with Craig and asked him if he would record himself speaking about his personal meaning of hope and his reflections on what it means to others around him. That speech became the 2<sup>nd</sup> movement (left unedited) as well as the major theme of the entire piece. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Early in the writing process, I had enlisted my great friend Austin Peralta to come play the tour. Knowing I had the potential to write with pianistic reckless abandon, I decided to make the piece a feature for Austin, using the piano as an extension of Craig's voice. The 1<sup>st</sup> movement reflects the struggle that often comes with hope in an otherwise hopeless situation. The 3<sup>rd</sup> movement contains more literal elements of the trip, such as the mountainous melody, the saxophone clashes representing the unfortunate crash I was responsible for (sorry again Pierre...), the “majestic” melody getting destroyed by the distorted guitars representing the beauty of the landscapes/enduring the climb, etc...</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">This collection of music consists of 5 tracks, the first 3 being “Hope” in movements that are all connected, and the other two are “Speak Slow” and “The FB Generation”. The latter were recorded on November 19<sup>th </sup>in New York at NYU's Clive Davis Studio with Vaughn Sulit running the session. “Hope” was recorded on December 3<sup>rd</sup> in Montreal at McGill's Studio A with Matt Baltrucki running the session. The mixing was done over several months with sporadic meetings at both of the engineers' homes/schools.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">“Speak Slow” is the beginning of a song cycle I'm writing for singers and big band. Dan Ellis-Ferris is my favourite male vocalist to work with, hands down.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">“The FB Generation” is a piece based on short-lived social gratifications. The piece moves in short sections that change frequently and constantly return from whence they came...</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Musicians:</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b>NYU</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">RHYTHM SECTION: Dominic Mekky – piano, Matt Rousseau – bass, Arthur Hnatek – drums, Michael Valeanu – guitar, Douglas Marriner – secondary drum set, Eric Read – percussion</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">TRUMPETS: Derek Ganong, Ari Bragi Karason, Sam Neufeld, Francesco Fratini, Cody Rowlands</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">TROMBONES: Andy Sharkey (bs), Chris Stover, Andy Clausen, Alfredo Marques</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">WOODWINDS: Yacine Boulares (tn, sop), Levon Henry (tn,cl), Ilia Skibinsky (al, sop), Dillon Baiocchi (al, fl), Sami Bronowski (bari)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">CONDUCTOR: Dean Buck</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">SINGER: Dan Ellis-Ferris</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b>MONTREAL</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">RHYTHM SECTION: Austin Peralta – piano, Matt Rousseau – bass, Arthur Hnatek – drums, Michael Valeanu – guitar, Colin Fairbank – keyboards</div><div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">TRUMPETS: Ari Bragi Karason, Sam Neufeld, Cody Rowlands, Simon Millerd, Carou Johnson</div><div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">TROMBONES: Gabriel Gagnon, Kurtis Muller, Raymond Carruthers, Felix Del Tredici (bs)</div><div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">WOODWINDS: Yacine Boulares (tn, sop), Levon Henry (tn, cl), Ilia Skibinsky (al, sop), Dillon Baiocchi (al, fl), Sayre Schultz (bari)</div><div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">CONDUCTOR: Franky Rousseau</div><div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">SOUND DESIGN: Dominic Mekky</div><div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">“Hope” solos in order: Austin Peralta, Levon Henry, Yacine Boulares, Dillon Baiocchi, Ilia Skibinsky, Michael Valeanu</div><div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">“The FB Generation” solos in order: Levon Henry, Dominic Mekky</div><div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">The NYU session was recorded with full takes of the band, overdubbing after. For “Speak Slow”, vocals, acoustic guitar, and electric guitar fills were added immediately after the session. For “The FB Generation”, the flutes were overdubbed immediately after the session, while Levon Henry's tenor sax solo was recorded months later in Queens, NY.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">The McGill session was recorded in sections due to limited size of the studio, as well as interest in recording with a layering process. The rhythm section tracked first. Second were the trumpets. Third were the woodwinds. Fourth were the overdubs; Michael Valeanu's guitar solo, many of Colin Fairbanks' parts, and Austin Peralta's piano interludes (the solo in the first movement was recorded live).</div><div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">The highest honour and privilege of my life has been to work with the musicians involved on this project. The band is nearly 2 years old (it's birthplace was Montreal), and exists solely on generosity, friendship, co-operation, and the will to play music.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">A lot of thanks are in order, as it takes a large village to tame a big band... I apologize for the long list, I'm sure I'll eventually chalk it up to youthful indiscretion. My biggest thanks go to my family for having been behind every insane musical decision I've ever come up with. Eddy, Flo, Mom, Dad.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">Anyone that's ever been a part of or helped me with the band, whether it's been grabbing gear, lending a car, lending beds, lending instruments, lending time and suggestions. Shelby Cohen, Corey Armstrong, Liam Killen, Ben Deschamps, Teagan Schultz, Jarryd Torff, Giacomo Smith, Steph Cho, Issac Gesse, Fred Bourgeault, Marc-Andre Giroux, Isabelle Viau, Dom Rossi, Andy Sharkey, Andy Clausen, Nick Grinder, Derek Ganong, Matthew Hartnett, Linton Smith, Allison Phillips, Chris Stover, Blake Martin, Erik Saras, Taylor Donaldson, Geoff Cronin, Darren Denman, Freddy Gonzalez, Alfredo Marques, Sarah Safaie, Dan Ellis-Ferris, Dean Buck, glad to have you all as a part of the band! Neha, Ben, Pedro, and Anthony for letting me use your spaces (and being friends!</div><div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">Joe Baugniet, Joe Melanson, Bud Rice, Rasa Daliri, Julian Gammon, Rox Loums, Emma Love, Seb Forcione, JJ Wright, Marc Beland, Rick Rosato, Mike League, Sammy Miller, Martha Kato, Sami Bronowski, Eric Read, Talia Billig, Jay Rudolph, Doug Marinner, Jeni Szelag, and Ali Levy for being friends and inspirations in and out of music.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">Touring band – I look forward to making more music with you all: Yacine for the reinforcement of positivity, Levon for the apologies and overdubs, Cody for the MTL hangs, Sam for the frisbee/soccer (of course), Ilia for being our true gypsy, Dillon for the best roomie award, Felix for the Variations, Gab once again for the night bus, Sayre for the immaculate attendance record and low notes, Simon for the pitas, Kurtis for the Disney interpretations, Raymond for being the last minute champion, Ari for telling me I needed to stay in NY, Carou for being a great leader and host, Colin purely for existing (keep it up!), Francesco for always being so solid and patient, and Michael for teaching me how to play guitar! </div><div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">Vaughn Sulit: For being so devoted and such a perfectionist, I'm in awe of your focus and drive. Thank you for spending so much time for this. I owe you.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">Matt Baltrucki: For being my Montreal recorded music universe. For 2 years of the MMR sessions, the Studio A sessions, for the mixing sessions, for the talent, knowledge, and being just the right amount of crazy to invite me back every semester. I owe you.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">Kirk Nurock, for your infinite wisdom and guidance. Ben Wendel, for telling me this project was possible. Christopher Smith for the knowledge I still use in my big band writing. Bob Hurwitz for influencing me to continue to make the music I'm making.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">Austin, for crossing the country to do this. You are one of my favourite musicians ever. Arthur, for being the truest friend and mentor I've ever had. Dom for being the greatest sounding board possible. Hannah, for putting up with me, period: much love. Matt for reserving the rest of your life on my gigs.</div><div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">Thank you, the listener/reader for taking time to pay attention to this project. Enjoy!</div><div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">All the best,</div><div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;">-Franky</div>Franky Rousseaunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8373239684778369937.post-50155074576486691692012-03-21T17:50:00.000-04:002012-03-21T17:50:36.149-04:00DBQ Tour #2<div style="font-family: Times,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I'm sitting in a condo in Santa Cruz, having just finished all of the “Dillon Baiocchi Quintet” gigs. It was another great California experience, despite the WORST weather in my California history.</span></div><div style="font-family: Times,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Times,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Times,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ooUxZ5Vj0N8/T2kR03upIZI/AAAAAAAAAIg/P2w3Bkvlj_g/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ooUxZ5Vj0N8/T2kR03upIZI/AAAAAAAAAIg/P2w3Bkvlj_g/s320/photo.JPG" width="240" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Alcatraz in horrible California weather</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="font-family: Times,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Times,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Times,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;">The band was/is:</span></div><div style="font-family: Times,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;">Dillon Baiocchi – alto sax/compositions</span></div><div style="font-family: Times,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;">Samuel Bronowski – tenor sax</span></div><div style="font-family: Times,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;">Douglas Marriner – drums</span></div><div style="font-family: Times,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;">Matt Rousseau – bass</span></div><div style="font-family: Times,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;">Me - guitar</span></div><div style="font-family: Times,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Times,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;">Here's a quick overview of what happened:</span></div><div style="font-family: Times,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Times,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;">We arrived from NY to San Francisco on March 9th and drove to Santa Cruz. The weather was perfect and we beached it up. Little did we know this would be the only time in 10 days... </span></div><div style="font-family: Times,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Times,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;">The following morning we rehearsed in a studio owned by a local drummer to get ready for a radio show on KSCO. Although Santa Cruz is known to be a very liberal county, they have this really right-wing radio station somehow affiliated with Rush Limbaugh. We had played there before, but with a different host. I managed to mess up at least one section to every piece, including the first chords of the entire show. Pure radio gold. In between performances either Dillon would get interviewed or the host would take a few minutes to share his opinions to the panel of women he had as “guests”. He told a joke that was completely irrelevant to his “program”, which was tasteless and insulting, leaving the band silent in response...&nbsp; He asked me if I could get him great Yankee tickets with my "connections" (I have zero baseball tickets connections, just for the record) in exchange for booze. Not my kind of guy. We grabbed a quick bite and headed over to play a house party, hosted by Nikki Mokover, who we found out was a friend of some of our musician friends in NY. We were originally supposed to share the bill with “Sammy Miller and the Congregation” but Sammy had to take a later flight than planned (he had an audition for the Jazz Drumming Master's program at Juilliard). We decided to improvise groove music as opposed to playing Dillon's music for the sake of keeping the vibe of the party, which was a packed room of attentive dancing college students. I don't know what it is about east coast folk that make them more likely to ignore music at parties... The people in Santa Cruz are incredibly welcoming, generous, helpful, and caring, which are attributes I don't usually give to New Yorkers (and Montreal some of the time). Nikki's hip-hop band “<a href="http://joomanji.bandcamp.com/album/joomanji" target="_blank">Joomanji</a>” played their set after us, which was a lot of fun (I sat in for a tune). They were followed by a great young electronic artist from LA called “<a href="http://soundcloud.com/juj" target="_blank">Juj</a>”.</span><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-becPTU_AvUI/T2pL5PGIi5I/AAAAAAAAAJI/mazrU_VU7TU/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-becPTU_AvUI/T2pL5PGIi5I/AAAAAAAAAJI/mazrU_VU7TU/s200/photo.JPG" width="150" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Molly and Sami at the East Village Coffee House in Monterey</span></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div style="font-family: Times,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;">&nbsp; </span></div><div style="font-family: Times,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Times,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;">The next day we had another rehearsal with Dillon's band, then met with Sammy and Molly Miller who had driven up from LA to play a couple of gigs with us. We headed over to “The Crepe Place” in downtown Santa Cruz to play that night's gig. I was confronted with the noisiest amp buzz I've ever heard in my life (horrible downside to my Tele), which made the gig really uncomfortable. Dillon's band played first; not our finest performance. Sammy then went up, played a couple of tunes duo with Molly, then we joined them for the rest of their set. The following day we went to Monterey to play at “The East Village Coffee House”. Monterey is oddly known for it's jazz festival, military schools, and it's aquarium. We played our sets to a small audience, and I struck up a conversation with a local who told me that Monterey has never been so musically stagnant...</span><br /></div><div style="font-family: Times,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Times,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7P40Tg7xoHc/T2kSWBQppZI/AAAAAAAAAIo/fw5jrrA_lFk/s1600/photo-3.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-7P40Tg7xoHc/T2kSWBQppZI/AAAAAAAAAIo/fw5jrrA_lFk/s1600/photo-3.JPG" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Nikki at work</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="font-family: Times,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Times,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Times,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;">The Millers returned home the day after. We met with Nikki at <a href="http://www.kzsc.org/" target="_blank">KZSC</a> at the top of the UC Santa Cruz campus where he hosts a radio show called “The Next Step” every Tuesday from 2-4pm. He had told us to bring some music, and upon arriving we learned that we would be featured guests for the 2 hour show. Sami felt compelled to tell the listeners that although Vijay Ayer is one of Doug's favourite musicians, he hates his music and that it does nothing for him... This is the kind of back and forth that made up most of the dialogue between the Englishman and the Frenchman for the entire trip. I shared a rough mix of the 1<sup>st</sup> movement of “Hope”, as well as Tigran Hamasyan's “Vardavar” off of his newest release, “Ep #1” (to be checked out ASAP by everyone...)</span></div><div style="font-family: Times,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Times,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2naFSmfsm4Q/T2kShI6g4NI/AAAAAAAAAIw/WXEofMzz09c/s1600/photo-2.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-2naFSmfsm4Q/T2kShI6g4NI/AAAAAAAAAIw/WXEofMzz09c/s1600/photo-2.JPG" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Inside KZSC with Bronowski</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="font-family: Times,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Times,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Times,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;">During a couple of days off we listened back to the performances and attempted to adjust certain things about the music. We got to take a day trip to San Francisco to meet with our friend Sara and Doug's family friend Anita, the funniest 72 year old woman I've ever met. Anita took us around San Francisco from her perspective (she's been there for 30 years).</span></div><div style="font-family: Times,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="font-family: Times,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-I6aIHQ-QAP0/T2kSsuiqRhI/AAAAAAAAAI4/201pSYpMlow/s1600/photo-1.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-I6aIHQ-QAP0/T2kSsuiqRhI/AAAAAAAAAI4/201pSYpMlow/s1600/photo-1.JPG" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Doug on the Golden Gate</span></td></tr></tbody></table><div style="font-family: Times,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Times,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Times,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;">The next couple of days were spent at Cabrillo college for the “Santa Cruz Jazz Festival”, the major gigs of our trip. We gave two performances and two masterclasses over two days, one about “The Future of Jazz” and the other about composition. We tried to speak broadly with our musical terms, assuming that most of the high school students in attendance listened to very little jazz. Apparently we were wrong... Kids who like jazz = rare.</span><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TY4Xnnmvc0M/T2pLLuTpBGI/AAAAAAAAAJA/-aWClebV29s/s1600/IMG_4999.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-TY4Xnnmvc0M/T2pLLuTpBGI/AAAAAAAAAJA/-aWClebV29s/s320/IMG_4999.JPG" width="320" /></a></span></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">At Cabrillo College</span></td></tr></tbody></table></div><div style="font-family: Times,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Times,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;">I got invited to sit in with Nikki's group at “The Abbey” in downtown Santa Cruz which was a blast, a really great turnout and cool music. I played with members of “Joomanji” James Levine on drums, Kevin Cameron on bass, and Robert Finucane on rhodes. Nikki's band for the night was Tobin Chodos on keys, Kevin Cameron on bass, and Evan Williams on drums.</span></div><div style="font-family: Times,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Times,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;">I'm now back in NY, about to play a few gigs and senior recitals in the coming weeks. My partner in crime <a href="http://www.arthurhnatek.com/" target="_blank">Arthur Hnatek</a> has managed to book a gig at the “</span><span style="color: black; font-family: Times,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Fête de la musique 2012 à Genève” in Switzerland, which is one of about 5 gigs in June that I'm trying to put together with the help of my European friends.</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Times,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Times,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><b><span style="color: black;">Music that I've listened to recently:</span></b></span> </div><div style="font-family: Times,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Times,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">Darius Milhaud – <i>La Creation Du Monde</i></span></div><div style="font-family: Times,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">Imogen Heap – <i>Speak for Yourself</i>&nbsp; (I don't know why it's taken me this long to hear this...)</span></div><div style="font-family: Times,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">Tigran Hamasyan – <i>EP #1</i></span></div><div style="font-family: Times,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">Adam Guettel –<i> A Light In The Piazza (Original Cast Recording)</i></span></div><div style="font-family: Times,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">Stephen Sondheim – <i>A Little Night Music (2009 Broadway Cast)</i></span><br /><span style="color: black; font-size: small;">Joni Mitchell - <i>Both Sides Now</i> (Vince Mendoza is king) </span></div><div style="font-family: Times,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Times,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif; font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-size: small;"><br /></span></div><div style="font-family: Times,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black; font-size: small;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">Mixes of my recordings are still being worked on, still shooting for a mid-April release!</span></span></div><div style="font-family: Times,&quot;Times New Roman&quot;,serif; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="font-weight: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div>Franky Rousseaunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8373239684778369937.post-14204112747752275932012-03-09T22:00:00.000-05:002012-03-09T22:00:05.386-05:00Snarky Puppy<span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">March 2<sup>nd</sup> 2011</span></span></span> <div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EWeHMARMyL0/T1q89IrlclI/AAAAAAAAAIA/pX82lkAWox4/s1600/SnarkyPuppy345-53shybc.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="230" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-EWeHMARMyL0/T1q89IrlclI/AAAAAAAAAIA/pX82lkAWox4/s320/SnarkyPuppy345-53shybc.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Core Members of SP</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I'm currently in a van, getting a ride from New York to Montreal with "<a href="http://www.snarkypuppy.com/" target="_blank">Snarky Puppy</a>". I had originally intended on taking a night bus this weekend when I realized they were heading north to do two gigs in Montreal, and then two in Toronto. By hopping on board, I'm saving 70$ and having a much better time than the normal Greyhound experience. The reason for my trip is that I'm meeting with Matt Baltrucki on the 6<sup>th</sup> to hopefully come up with the final mix of the McGill session.</span></span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I've briefly written about Snarky before, and the people who know me well certainly know that I respect them a lot. Being on this van ride has inspired me to write a little about my relationship with this amazing group of musicians.</span></span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">...</span></span></span></div><div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I frequently get people enthusiastically asking me if I've heard of this band (sometimes its "is that you in the <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_UDYwWqBnd8" target="_blank">Snarky Puppy video</a>?”) The funny thing is that the question has come from people I know EVERYWHERE! Friends have told me their music has made the rounds in Iceland, Portugal, France, all over the US and Canada, Australia, etc etc... I've been fortunate to have witnessed the last 2 recordings of their albums (they now have 5, plus an additional DVD.) </span></span></span> </div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I first encountered their music very much in the style that continues to fuel the wunderkind Michael League's engine that is Snarky: a friend (Corey Armstrong) told me about them and word quickly got around to our friends. I had bought their most recent album (back then their second, "The World Is Getting Smaller") and listened to it for weeks. I was all the more impressionable to their sound as I was just getting into "jazz" at the time but completely uninitiated to its traditions and trying to make sense of it all. Snarky was the most exciting sound of improvised music I had ever heard, it made sense to me, I felt an immediate connection to the writing and playing. I give them credit for being a gateway to a deeper love of jazz in a confusing time and setting for someone to discover it, which I have come to realize has a lot to do with my current musical being.</span></span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">After these subsequent weeks of listening, I found out they were scheduled to play in Toronto. A group of 5 of me and my peers decided to take a day trip to go see them. I still remember the first few notes of the gig, realizing my enthusiasm for the album was more than matched by their live show; these guys were the SHIT! I also distinctly remember the fact that we were the only people in the room that knew their music (as far as I could tell). We'd stumbled on their first Canadian performance without knowing it.</span></span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">We met Mike (who plays bass and leads the band) and some of the other members in between sets and told them about our mini road trip, which obviously surprised them. Sput (the drummer) was on keyboards on that gig, as were 3 members that no longer regularly perform with SP.</span></span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">...</span></span></span></div><div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Since I'm writing in real time, I can update the events of this trip... Everyone's trying to convince Bob (guitar) to shave his head and grow a fancy moustache, while giving him a hard time about being the only member without an iPhone, prompting an onslaught of iMessage trash talk.</span></span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">...</span></span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Four months after that gig, we found out they were set to play in Toronto again. We planned another day trip. At the gig, Mike made some comment about accidentally driving towards Montreal for a few hours and we cheered. They were excited we had come so far to check them out AGAIN. We convinced them to come to Montreal the next time they were touring. </span></span></span> </div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">By the time they got to the next round of traveling, they'd released their third album (“Bring Us The Bright”). We managed to set up a clinic at our school (after a lot of convincing and pleading) and started to promote their gig with every resource we had. I remember the same feeling of the first few notes at the clinic, where everyone in the room sat up a little straighter and started to smile. The show was the next night. My group at the time (Pocket Change) opened for them. The show went over well, and began a solid enough foundation for Mike to come back for every tour thereafter. </span></span></span> </div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">...</span></span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Justin is now "moustache shopping on Wikipedia" for Bob.</span></span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">...</span></span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I moved to New York at the same time that a lot of the SP musicians. I got to go see their gigs in the city frequently, including many smaller sideman gigs. In January of 2010, Mike sent out an invitation to the people that had helped out the band over the last few years to attend the recording of their 4th album (appropriately titled "Tell Your Friends" in Louisiana. 5 of us decided to take the 22 hour drive down south. Part of our road-trip legacy laid in the fact that it had become a friendly ritual to make each successive Snarky Puppy gathering a little more absurd.</span></span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0Z_srXlncRY/T1q-605MueI/AAAAAAAAAII/32FWTYBNzeI/s1600/15346_1151893799271_1285410035_30383061_1350722_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-0Z_srXlncRY/T1q-605MueI/AAAAAAAAAII/32FWTYBNzeI/s320/15346_1151893799271_1285410035_30383061_1350722_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Snapshot of me and two friends at Dockside Studios</td></tr></tbody></table><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I'd continued to see the guys sporadically in New York over the next couple of years, and have recently attended one of their sets for their latest album: “Ground Up”.</span></span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&amp;v=eZBlRkF0-to" target="_blank">Here's a track/video from "Ground Up"</a></span></span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Besides being musically important for me, but Mike League has been one of the most influential people in my life, and I wouldn't be surprised if hundreds of others say the same. He is THE model for 21st century post downfall-of-the-record-industry-as-big-business-knew-it musicians. Tim Lefebvre calls him the hardest working person in show-business on the planet. I've gotten to hang with him enough to see the way he works, and it's jaw-dropping. Not only is he the core of the band, he does everything. Booking, press, drives the van, takes care of lodging, books flights, the list goes on and on. The most striking part about him is that he brings people together like no one I've ever met. He gives everyone that reaches out to him more than required attention, never forgets a name or a face, brings all of his being to every gig. I know this sounds like a giant man-crush, but it's really something spectacular, and I think it would be near impossible to find someone who says otherwise.</span></span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">For instance, he's driving right now, trying to figure out a connecting flight/drive in Chicago next week, while reviewing the itinerary for the West Coast part of the tour with the rest of the band. He mentions an option for LA and the other guys are quick on their phones to get an opening band, reaching out to friends. His brain can move from this sort of planning, to responding to a menial conversation about an asteroid hitting earth in 28 years, to thinking about when he should replace a tire on the trailer that recently had a flat. This would be impressive enough on its own, but he manages to still be one of the worlds greatest electric bass players. This is daily. Sput is on the phone with Erykah Badu. The others are playing “Words with Friends” vigorously.</span></span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">...</span></span></span></div><div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I'm on Nate Werth's (percussion) phone with some friends trying to line up people to take gear in for them when we get in, as well as sleeping arrangements for the night (my keyboardist Colin Fairbank has agreed to put half of them up.) We get to the border and Mike mentions that no matter how prepared he is for a crossing, he feels like they've done something wrong. Everything is declared (merch, gigs, gear, etc) and we spend 20 minutes in secondary inspection while the border patrol reviews the paperwork. Mike has to pay 0.00$ for the customs, they must feel that he's not selling enough merchandise for it to be worthy tax-wise.</span></span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">...</span></span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"> <span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">At the end of the ride as we're getting close to the venue, I'm up front with Mike and the subject of self-expression and music comes up. Without hesitation he's able to define the role that music plays in his (all encompassed) life and what it means to others around him. Mark Lettieri (guitar) and Bob Lanzetti (guitar) who are in the seats behind both contribute their thoughts on others' musical <i>raison d'êtres </i><span style="font-style: normal;">as well. We unload the gear and the band stays at the venue while Mike and I take the van/trailer to be parked. I ask him about running the band, what it's taken and if his childhood-military-base upbringing has anything to do with the apparent precise management he upkeeps. He doesn't think so, nor does he think he's very good at it. He mentions that it's more or less a skill-set that he's developed because he's always been a rational person, and it's also that rationality that keeps him at bay from the eccentricities that other artists that he respects seem to have. He tells me his brother is the genius, a word he doesn't throw around lightly.</span></span></span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">We're quickly grabbing a bite before heading over to the club, the opening band must already be playing, and it's guaranteed that the rest of the band has everything under control over there. We head over and Mike isn't phased at all about what time it is (we're not late, or early, like Gandalf, precisely arriving when meant to...) The crowd is pretty decent, and they play a good set. Afterwards, Mike mentions that it's actually one of the lesser performances in recent history, he's thinking that with a proper soundcheck the next day it will make a big difference.</span></span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div align="CENTER" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">...</span></span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">This is what it's been like for Snarky for the last 5 years, they're getting more and more recognition, and a big enough budget to head over to Europe for some gigs on this tour. This is an example of a band that has earned every step up the ladder so far, their “backing” strictly being from within the family that it has become. They're still driving everywhere, this tour they'll likely see over 5000km (I'm guessing) of North American road. They're mostly either in their late 20s or early 30s. They all get called for other gigs (Jay, a trumpet player is not on this tour because he's playing with Toby Keith.) Their collective resume is truly world class. It's difficult to figure out what this means for younger touring bands. I suppose most great new groups have a story that closely resembles this. On the bus ride, Mike was talking about the Facebook analytics of their fan page, noting the demographics of people who are checking them out. This is a band that in my opinion could appeal to all open listeners. It's always grooving, and the energy is always high on stage. So what will it take for them to get to the next proverbial step up the ladder? People are talking, this much everyone already knows, but are they being held back by something that's inherent in the music? (I don't mean this in a negative way.) I think they're doing everything right. There's definitely no lack of talent, the material is truly fresh (I mean that literally, but 90's youth vernacular works as well...); sometimes I wonder if it's the setting in which they're expected to play that prevents a further jump. Sit down concerts would feel way out of place for them. Audience members at recent shows I've seen are caught in some limbo between dancing, bouncing, and sitting rigidly telling their neighbours “how hard it's grooving”. It seems to me there's an unlikely inhibition somewhere inside the interpretation of the music that makes people want to listen to it's intricacies while moving. Weird, right? I don't think it's too farfetched to form a correlation between this and the great dance bands of the 30's and 40's. It would be nice if that switch were easily turned on... The band is doing what they do best, that definitely shouldn't change.</span></span></span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">...</span></span></span></div><div align="CENTER" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">The next night is MUCH better: there's a bigger crowd, the energy is higher, the band is noticeably more at ease (due to having had a proper soundcheck), and the band managed to get a decent nights rest. This performance goes down as one of my favourite Snarky shows ever. In the days following, I get a chance to talk to friends about how they felt about the show. The responses are all over the map, positive of course, but it seems no one is hearing the band the same way. This is true of all music, and I'm becoming more and more aware of the fact. At the end of the day (putting aside the music nerd part of my brain), I continue to seek out their shows because I feel great listening to their music. I become oblivious to everything else for an hour and a half, get to move to music without forcing myself (rare occasion), and have great time. With the music nerd part of my brain turned on, it's just as fulfilling. I think that's what it comes down to, and the hinderance isn't the music, it's the perception of the audience...</span></span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div align="CENTER" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">...</span></span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="font-style: normal; margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Flash forward to March 9<sup>th</sup> 2011</span></span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">As for news on my part, I've been busy writing a new piece set to be performed in Montreal in October. If trying to tour with a big band is idiotic, this next project trumps that idea ten-fold. I've also begun trying to set up a few gigs in Europe for June with friends from Portugal, Italy, England, France, and Switzerland. I spent the last month and a half meeting with Vaughn Sulit once a week to mix the tracks from the NYU sessions and I'm happy to say we've got those finalized. I just had the session with Matt Baltrucki this week and I think we're on the cusp of the final product. I feel very fortunate to be working with such talented young engineers.</span></span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Shows I've seen and music I've heard recently...</span></span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Joe Henry: Introduced to this man's amazing songwriting because his son happens to be a good friend of mine. I saw his show at the City Winery in NYC on February 1<sup>st</sup>. Mr. Henry has this uniquely refined sensibility to the art of song, which is something I hadn't heard recently. A large part of my writing and playing style comes out of what Joe Henry does so well. He's an anomaly in his field, absolutely worth checking out!</span></span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Mehldau/Guiliana: I got to see this rare duo among my favourite musicians at Smoke in Harlem on February 4<sup>th</sup>. I don't think any explanations are necessary...</span></span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Ben Wendel Group: I saw this on February 17<sup>th</sup>, the rest of the band being Tigran Hamasyan, Adam Benjamin, Gerald Clayton, Ben Street, Nate Wood, and Gilad Hekselman. Playing aside... The writing!!! Geez... New record is out, go buy it.</span></span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">La Prima Donna: I saw Rufus Wainwright's opera at BAM on February 23<sup>rd</sup>, and I have to admit I didn't love it... </span></span></span> </div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Bjork: Saw her show at the Roseland Ballroom on February 28<sup>th</sup>. One of the most gorgeous shows I've seen in my life, I've raved about the album but the live performance of it made it all the more inventive. February was “Bjork intensive”. I met her current drummer/percussionist Manu Delago through Arthur Hnatek early in the month at one of his gigs at Rockwood Music Hall, and was able to attend the show's after-hang due to their good grace. I got to meet Nico Muhly (one of my favourite composers) which was nice, and during our conversation an excited Bjork came over to make comments about the bartender doing “magic tricks”. It's a long story...</span></span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Q-rtfpqj9JQ/T1rDPHiFEII/AAAAAAAAAIY/VGYX01Aruj8/s1600/22nd_Feb_4.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Q-rtfpqj9JQ/T1rDPHiFEII/AAAAAAAAAIY/VGYX01Aruj8/s320/22nd_Feb_4.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Taken from Bjork's website...</td></tr></tbody></table><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Went into studio really last minute one night to record a not-for-Valentine's-day song by Talia Billig for Ben Van Gelder which turned out to be a lot of fun. <a href="http://vimeo.com/36784265" target="_blank">Here's the video.</a></span></span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Played a fun gig with Mika Hary at Cafe Vivaldi with amazing musicians: Shai Maestro on piano, Ari Bragi Karason on trumpet, Ziv Ravitz on drums, Sam Minaie on bass, and Mika on vocals and compositions. The other usual guitarists are Nir Felder, Gilad Hekselman, and Michael Valeanu... Lots to live up to there!</span></span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">I'm currently in Santa Cruz beginning a 10 day tour with the Dillon Baiocchi Quintet, with Samuel Bronowski on tenor, my brother Matt on bass, Douglas Marriner on drums, and Dillon on alto and compositions. Staying at this cool little apartment close to the beach in Capitola, life is good!</span></span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oQZlY1jgThI/T1rA2rIsbzI/AAAAAAAAAIQ/K_z6O7UXYug/s1600/photo.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-oQZlY1jgThI/T1rA2rIsbzI/AAAAAAAAAIQ/K_z6O7UXYug/s320/photo.JPG" width="239" /></a></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">Recordings should be ready in a months time (hopefully!)</span></span></span></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div align="LEFT" style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="color: black;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica,sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: small;">-FR</span></span></span></div>Franky Rousseaunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8373239684778369937.post-91094332373271095162012-01-15T15:27:00.000-05:002012-01-15T15:27:24.746-05:00December 2011 TOUR! (Post-Modern Canadian Music)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3QgNxNCnI0E/TxL4SGYSROI/AAAAAAAAAD4/p7MxJ__oCok/s1600/DSC_0145.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="265" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-3QgNxNCnI0E/TxL4SGYSROI/AAAAAAAAAD4/p7MxJ__oCok/s400/DSC_0145.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo: Evan Shay</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">For the sake of consistency, I should once AGAIN apologize for lack of posts. Here's the required index for such a long article:</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><ol><li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Writing and organizing “Hope”</div></li><li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">The Tour</div></li><li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Recordings</div></li><li><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Listening/Reading/Shows</div></li></ol><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b>1. WRITING/ORGANIZING</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> At the end of the last blog entry, I claimed that I had “finished writing” the first movement of “Hope”. I should point out that this past version of me had NO idea what he was talking about... Firstly, I didn't know whether or not it would be a multi-movement piece. Secondly, I hadn't notated it yet (a big factor in it's performance). Thirdly, I didn't realize that there would be pre-recorded material dictating the flow of the piece. Fourthly, I added material to this movement a few weeks later. I'll try not to make these claims in the future until I have absolute proof or certainty. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> I began feeling anxious about my plans around the time of the last blog post, since I'd more or less collected the band but didn't actually have any gigs confirmed. My grandiose plan was to write the piece and hit up Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Toronto, Ottawa, Montreal, Brooklyn, and record the piece at McGill University. Before any emails were sent, I felt it was necessary to finally have a proper website. After a failed venture recruiting someone to do it, I made it myself... Then I started contacting venues in all of the cities, trying to find places where we would fit and didn't charge the band to play. I made clockwork of a half-booking/half-writing schedule, including Mondays assisting with the wonderful Kirk Nurock in exchange for his input on the snippets of music that I would bring in every week. While I have your attention early on in the article (completely false assumption...) I would like to state: This would not have been elegantly executed had I been working a day job, and most likely improbable.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> Somewhat recently on <a href="http://www.therestisnoise.com/" target="_blank">Alex Ross' blog</a> there was a short interview with Esa-Pekka Salonen. Regarding composing, Salonen says: “The main problem of my scheduling is that any time in the diary which is not strictly conducting is called composing time. This is an illusion as the so-called "life" happens within the other 50%: family time, recovery, reading, general charging of batteries, taking cat to the vet.” Truth. Although I'm sure his schedule makes mine look like a perma-vacation, the point is still well taken. Everyone (myself regrettably included) loves to tout the insanity of their schedules. Let's all agree to assume everyone is eternally too busy due to the so-called “life”, as it makes for really poor </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">conversation.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> I balanced rehearsals/gigs, mixing the documentary music I had made with Dominic Mekky, prepping and recording on Talia Billig's debut album, singing with the St. Cecilia choir every week, along with so-called “life” and everything in between. I was extremely fortunate to be able to enlist my great friend <a href="http://www.austinperalta.com/" target="_blank">Austin Peralta</a> for the tour, since the new piece was to be a piano feature (written for him regardless). This was the first positive step towards making my plan more concrete. The music was coming along, I was toying with the idea of writing a “piano concerto” for big band, but the idea started fading slowly as I came to terms with “performance balance” vs “Sibelius-playback balance”. It made more sense to think of it as a “featured instrument”. The booking was slow, and reserving all of the musicians for that length of time was tough due to conflicting school dates (for members of the band, this is my first year out of school and it feels the same).</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> Having semi-completed the first movement, I set to work on the 3<sup>rd</sup>, bypassing the 2<sup>nd</sup> knowing that it would be simpler, plus I had come up with the idea of asking Craig Kielburger (the founder of <a href="http://www.freethechildren.com/" target="_blank">Free The Children</a>) to send me an audio recording of himself talking freely about hope (what it means to him and others) to be used in the composition process. I received a positive response soon after sending my email. I quickly asked Dominic Mekky if he'd be willing to manipulate and organize the audio portions of the piece and thankfully, he agreed. Thus began many conversations and exchanges of ideas via Skype. I have to admit that it felt great to be giving this work to someone much more adept at this than me, as well as having another set of ears to guide the music. It was around this time that I had finally confirmed all of the musicians, but the booking of shows was looking bleaker than I'd hoped. I had set up the NY gig first, but official confirmation wasn't coming in. Brooklyn seemed good to go, but the details weren't yet set. Montreal was tentative, I had to come in to sign a contract and pay a deposit (this would by far be the most “official” gig on the tour). The ideal venue in Toronto wasn't going to work out, although I managed to book another venue. Ottawa was only arranged when I happened to be on a gig and met a great sax player named Richard Page and mentioned I wanted to pass through Ottawa (thereby stumbling upon that gig).</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> It seems to me (I would love to be corrected wrong here) that Philadelphia really only has one “jazz club”, and all other music venues are either bars that host rock/folk music or larger venues. What's up in Philly? I'd love to find out... Suffice it to say that even with the help of some musician friends, I wasn't able to set it up. Maybe next time. The most surprising booking venture was easily Boston. Despite being a natural born “enemy” of the Boston Bruins (living in NY by association further alienates me from being welcome there on baseball terms), I had heard good things about the city from friends. I've never been, and figured booking a show there with the band would be a great way to visit, plus the Berklee crowd would be welcoming of the kind of music we make. I may be out of line here, but I don't mind: one would assume that with a 4000+ student music school, the area surrounding would be bustling with music venues, where business would thrive with eager ears and open minds... WRONG! Suggestions given to me by fellow musicians were usually given with a warning or a “you could try...” Where are these students gigging? Berklee's in-house venues either didn't respond or negated “outsider” performances. Not impressed Boston, not impressed at all... Let the record show, however, that I may still be bitter about last year's Stanley Cup.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> Meanwhile, the third movement was taking shape despite being highly fragmented and having no end in sight . The band had it's first rehearsal on November 13<sup>th</sup>, looking at the 1<sup>st</sup> movement and running the two charts we were set to record at NYU the following weekend. It was around this time that the schedule was finalized, and the McGill recording date confirmed. The following week was spent finishing the 3<sup>rd</sup> movement (or at least making it coherent) and notating it. I had been writing the piece completely in MIDI on Logic, forcing me to input everything into Sibelius post-composing, which always takes more time than I would like. The band recorded at NYU on the following Saturday, and rehearsed on the Sunday (the 20th), this time only the 3<sup>rd</sup> movement. I spent Thanksgiving week working on the 2<sup>nd</sup> movement with Dom, having spent hours writing and notating many ideas only to decide that the music called for something different (of course...) As a side note: I wrote over twice as much material for this piece than is included in the final product, definitely not including all the terrible ideas along the way... We had a semi-rehearsal at my friend Neha's loft on the 27<sup>th</sup>, and the final rehearsal on the 30<sup>th</sup> with the complete band. The piece was 100% complete on the 29<sup>th</sup> (2 days before the premiere)... There was one last minute change to the line-up due to school conflicts in the trumpet section. The band was to be:</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_60718953"><br /></a> </div><a href="http://www.blogger.com/goog_60718953"> </a><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><a href="http://www.austinperalta.com/" target="_blank">Austin Peralta</a> (Los Angeles, USA) – piano</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Colin Fairbank (Montreal, Canada) – keyboard</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Matt Rousseau (Montreal, Canada) – bass</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><a href="http://www.arthurhnatek.com/" target="_blank">Arthur Hnatek</a> (Geneva, Switzerland) – drums</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><a href="http://www.michaelvaleanu.com/Home.html" target="_blank">Michael Valeanu</a> (Paris, France) – guitar</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Tenors:</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><a href="http://www.yacineboulares.com/" target="_blank">Yacine Boulares</a> (Paris, France)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/ohlevon" target="_blank">Levon Henry</a> (Passadena, USA)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Altos:</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><a href="http://www.iliaskymusic.com/" target="_blank">Ilia Skibinsky</a> (Tel Aviv, Israel)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><a href="http://dillonbaiocchi.com/" target="_blank">Dillon Baiocchi</a> (Santa Cruz, USA)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Bari:</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Sayre Schultz (Swift Current, Canada)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Trumpets:</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Ari Bragi Karason (Reykjavik, Iceland)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Cody Rowlands (Phoenix, USA)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><a href="http://www.simonmillerd.com/" target="_blank">Simon Millerd</a> (Salt Spring Island, Canada)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><a href="http://www.neuquartet.com/" target="_blank">Sam Neufeld</a> (Milwaukee, USA)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><a href="http://www.myspace.com/fratinifrancesco" target="_blank">Francesco Frattini</a> (Rome, Italy) (NY gigs only)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Carou Johnson (Montreal, Canada) (Canada gigs only)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Trombones:</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Kurtis Muller (Dallas, USA)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Gabriel Gagnon (Montreal, Canada)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Felix Del Tredici (Montreal, Canada) (bass trombone)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Raymond Carruthers (Windsor, Canada) (Canada gigs only)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><a href="http://www.andysharkeymusic.com/" target="_blank">Andy Sharkey</a> (Fairmont IND, USA) (NY gigs only)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Others:</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><a href="http://www.myspace.com/douglasmarriner" target="_blank">Douglas Marriner</a> (London, England) (NY gigs only) - 2nd drumset</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> Dominic Mekky (York PENN, USA) (NY gigs only) - Audio/Electronic Manipulation</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Dean Buck (Cleveland, USA) (NY gigs only) - Conductor</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><a href="http://www.myspace.com/eeix" target="_blank">Eric Read</a> (Chatham NJ, USA) (NY gigs only) - AUX percussion</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> Two and a half months of work for 10 days of payoff...</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b>2. THE TOUR</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> The beginning of my “tour” mentality started on November 29<sup>th</sup> with Austin's arrival to NY. On the 30<sup>th</sup> we altered some of the piano notation for his parts, met up with the Montreal crew (Felix, Colin, Sayre, Simon, Gab) and prepared everything for the final rehearsal. That night we all crammed into a small room at the New School, not having access to any of the larger rooms, and ran the piece 3 times. I felt confident that we were ready, despite some minor issues (i.e. not having rehearsed the older material).</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-J1BIu6bTAnk/TxMCPD1nLdI/AAAAAAAAAE4/sc1CpFJzdJ8/s1600/378864_2184984277653_1638390086_1920186_278385309_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-J1BIu6bTAnk/TxMCPD1nLdI/AAAAAAAAAE4/sc1CpFJzdJ8/s320/378864_2184984277653_1638390086_1920186_278385309_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dan singing "Speak Slow" at "The Salt Space"</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">On the night of December 1<sup>st</sup>, we pulled up to “The Salt Space” on Broadway and 27<sup>th</sup> in Manhattan for the first show, greeted by my friend Anthony Taddeo. This is without a doubt the worst soundcheck I've ever had in my life. I ended up forgetting half of the music stands in Brooklyn (Dean and Simon rushed to a store to buy some), many of the musicians showed up late (partially my fault), and we were having trouble getting any piano to come through the PA. The audience had begun trickling in while we were still setting up... Nevertheless, the turnout was great, a lot of familiar faces and many new ones. I gave a quick speech about the piece, and snuck to the soundboard where Dom was set up. This was a first for me in that I was neither conducting nor playing; I was a spectator to my own creation (Dean Buck was conducting). This is a strange feeling, time goes by both very quickly and painfully slow all at once. Every inflection of every note is considered in real time without control to change anything. The piece went by fairly smoothly except for certain timing between sections. I joined the band onstage with my guitar along with Doug Marriner on the second drumset, and Dan Ellis-Ferris on vocals. After “Speak Slow”, we played some of the older material which now sounded a little reserved due to lack of rehearsals, but surprisingly well balanced. After the gig we packed up and mingled with the crowd; I had the feeling that we had participated in a communal gathering rather than a concert, which always feels great. I got to my car only to realize I'd gotten a parking ticket for placing the paper upside down... I drove the gear home and went to bed, preparing for an early departure.&nbsp;</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xeJVZsXMsfc/TxL7ZgOX0GI/AAAAAAAAAEI/WxE6Qxvqazs/s1600/385019_10150491037889085_553559084_10498705_1630215389_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-xeJVZsXMsfc/TxL7ZgOX0GI/AAAAAAAAAEI/WxE6Qxvqazs/s200/385019_10150491037889085_553559084_10498705_1630215389_n.jpg" width="150" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sleep Deprived Bro-Out to Ottawa. Ari Snores.</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">We left New York as a 3 car convoy on the 2<sup>nd</sup>. We were headed for Ottawa, which was to be a 7 hour drive, minus the border wait. The beauty of these tours lies in the en-route conversation. There's always the inevitable bro-out, but things eventually turn to music and I'll go as far as to say that I learn more about composition, improvisation, and performance in these sessions than anywhere else. It was clear that no one had really slept very much, and driving all day didn't help. We got to the border around nightfall (if anyone would like to hear our border story, feel free to contact me...) We got to “The Avant Garde Bar” with just enough time to unload the gear, meet up with Raymond (Gab had to take the bus from NY to Montreal and pick up a car along with Raymond, then drive to Ottawa) and eat for 45 minutes before the “Richard Page Nonet” was to begin.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sC87JffSiMA/TxL7-VKkiQI/AAAAAAAAAEQ/MDStBfkglUg/s1600/416238_342866202395132_100000152656200_1541111_1372826084_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-sC87JffSiMA/TxL7-VKkiQI/AAAAAAAAAEQ/MDStBfkglUg/s200/416238_342866202395132_100000152656200_1541111_1372826084_o.jpg" width="149" />&nbsp;</a></td><td style="text-align: center;">&nbsp;</td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ottawa Welcome</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1O_IJw4PQQY/TxL_9UeQTeI/AAAAAAAAAEw/sHj4hISoCJk/s1600/showthumb.php.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-1O_IJw4PQQY/TxL_9UeQTeI/AAAAAAAAAEw/sHj4hISoCJk/s1600/showthumb.php.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Squeezing on stage (Brett Delmage - Photo)</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">&nbsp;It was great to hear them play, I'd never heard any of the local Ottawa musicians other than Richard before. Richard has this great fire-in-the-belly tenor sound; another standout was Ed Lister on trumpet. After their set, we began the seemingly impossible task of fitting 19 musicians on the stage. Our set began with a sizeable amount of people in the venue (including 2 people who had taken part in the “National Bike Ride For Youth”!) We began with “Hope” once again, and the audience became very focused and energetic. It felt great to be in a new city and feel such amazing enthusiasm. People were coming in off the street, fuelling the energy that the band was gaining. I suppose having sat in a car all day and driving North towards the cold doesn't sound too promising, and they needed to let out some steam. This is what the entire Ottawa gig was like, tons of energy both from the band and audience, and a lot of chances were taken musically, including a 2&amp;4 backbeat-clap started by Ari over Kurtis' solo on the “FB Generation” (by far the best trombone solo in this bands history). I still have yet to get the recording of this show, I'm looking forward to hearing it...</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Id84yTCixs8/TxL_9AnOVhI/AAAAAAAAAEo/aA38YYNs5qk/s1600/showthuyymb.php.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Id84yTCixs8/TxL_9AnOVhI/AAAAAAAAAEo/aA38YYNs5qk/s1600/showthuyymb.php.jpg" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Richard + Crowd during our set (Brett Delmage - Photo)</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">&nbsp;After the gig we had time for a quick beer, I was asked to do a brief interview for “Ottawa Jazz Scene” with a charming Alayne McGregor, which can be found <a href="http://ottawajazzscene.ca/news/3596-franky-rousseau-thinking-large" target="_blank">here</a>. I had several people come up to me saying they'd never seen anything like that in Ottawa: mission accomplished I guess... A man named John Sobol emailed a few days after the show alerting me to a blog post he had written about the show, which I found to be tremendously eloquent and with a refreshing take on music in general. He's coined the band as “Post-Modern Canadian Music” (by way of the Nick Payton jazz-world hoopla), which is as close as anyone is gonna get to describing the music. Thanks John. This can be found <a href="http://youareyourmedia.wordpress.com/2011/12/05/frankie-rousseau-large-band-terrific-jazz-by-any-other-name/" target="_blank">here</a>.&nbsp; Highly recommended! We packed up the car and drove 2 hours to Montreal. </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> I woke up early the following morning for the McGill recording. This went until midnight. The next two days were free, so I used it as an opportunity to show the band members Montreal as I know it, including a full band + friends party, on the 3<sup>rd</sup>, and an “Occupy Jazz” jam session at “Upstairs Jazz Club” on the 4<sup>th</sup>.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lLGPar7Awgk/TxMJXkT42YI/AAAAAAAAAGY/FW-7AkTCLCQ/s1600/331604_2754163740962_1463739811_4440190_971797644_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-lLGPar7Awgk/TxMJXkT42YI/AAAAAAAAAGY/FW-7AkTCLCQ/s200/331604_2754163740962_1463739811_4440190_971797644_o.jpg" width="119" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Michael and Levon serving 25 people pasta</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vFBdLn79d_s/TxMDUy11CDI/AAAAAAAAAFQ/0vFdKJbqlKg/s1600/327195_342866462395106_100000152656200_1541116_1074785228_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-vFBdLn79d_s/TxMDUy11CDI/AAAAAAAAAFQ/0vFdKJbqlKg/s320/327195_342866462395106_100000152656200_1541116_1074785228_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Ari and Austin occupying jazz</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">We left Montreal for Toronto 's “Trane Studio” at around 10am the next day. The drive is about 6 hours long, which we split into two parts and unsurprisingly took us much longer... During our lunch break, Yacine was taking something out of the back of my car and the bari case fell onto his tenor case, resulting in a broken horn...&nbsp; We had the luxury of traveling in a car with a DVD player, and decided to buy "Cliffhanger" with Sylvester Stallone to watch for the rest of the way. Terrible idea. Arthur and Ari explain:</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowFullScreen='true' webkitallowfullscreen='true' mozallowfullscreen='true' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dx_5yE6MSQ7B2eFODBxSETAqoSh6VfGku0gRea6z4BVWNo3f6lhSNgxJvr2b5D-bfnrfQAhpX3WaoSOIdIZYQ' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' FRAMEBORDER='0' /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-z8JRkVZtiPw/TxMD73Sl7II/AAAAAAAAAFY/N5dFR-E3eqk/s1600/336837_342866509061768_100000152656200_1541117_560710851_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-z8JRkVZtiPw/TxMD73Sl7II/AAAAAAAAAFY/N5dFR-E3eqk/s320/336837_342866509061768_100000152656200_1541117_560710851_o.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Trane Studio</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Just like the Ottawa gig, we arrived with enough time to unload the gear, and grab a bite to eat before the first set.&nbsp; I called my friend Seb who attends Humber College, and he managed to find a horn for Yacine. We were expected to play 2 one hour sets. The first set went by great; I think this was the best set (musically speaking) of the whole tour. There were great crowds for both sets, including many of my friends who are now living in Toronto. After the gig, we began to pack up for the drive home (overnight...) and I had a dispute with the owner over money. It's a long story that I'd rather not go through, but I can say that I will not be returning to the Trane Studio.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VrwuSH-la_Q/TxMGBz41YAI/AAAAAAAAAFw/MA-fKCEwP7o/s1600/389945_2808890102652_1270687673_33137125_1481847172_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-VrwuSH-la_Q/TxMGBz41YAI/AAAAAAAAAFw/MA-fKCEwP7o/s320/389945_2808890102652_1270687673_33137125_1481847172_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">After soundcheck at the Segal Centre (minus Colin, Felix, and Gab)</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">We got in to Montreal around 6:30 am. We slept, ate, and got ready to head to the soundcheck at the “Segal Centre”. This was to be the big concert of the tour. Having played at a “gathering”, a bar, and a jazz club, the band was a little thrown off by this night's setting. There was a unanimous feeling that something wasn't quite right in Montreal: one explanation was that we'd driven 14 hours in a day and slept very little, the other explanation was that we were used to being a little closer to the audience and having a looser feeling in the room where people were free to hoot and holler if they felt so inclined... I think it was a mixture of both.&nbsp;</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DFm_1mG5fNM/TxMMj0Y-_LI/AAAAAAAAAHA/7FPDVxkXOD8/s1600/413516_342868672394885_100000152656200_1541135_762976689_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-DFm_1mG5fNM/TxMMj0Y-_LI/AAAAAAAAAHA/7FPDVxkXOD8/s320/413516_342868672394885_100000152656200_1541135_762976689_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sayre and the saxes</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">&nbsp;Regardless, the show was amazingly attended, thanks in large part to everyone that had helped promote the show (Ali Levy being the hero in this department).&nbsp; Many of the pictures on this post are by <a href="http://www.evanshay.com/" target="_blank">Evan Shay</a>, an INCREDIBLE photographer, it's absolutely worth it to take some time and check out his website to see his work (there are more from the Montreal show there as well)!&nbsp; Part of the show was also filmed by Claude Thibault who runs "Sorties Jazz Nights Montreal", and this can be found <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-6ze2LDOB2w" target="_blank">here</a>. (Austin, Matt, and Arthur sound AMAZING on that solo!)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> After the show I invited everyone to “Diese Onze” where Michael was to play a gig with Marc Beland on drums and Rick Rosato on bass. I had to bring many of the band members to the bus station so they could take the overnight bus to make early classes the next day.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5b6MURR9DPY/TxMGBAYKKmI/AAAAAAAAAFo/L_9FMOrzCmA/s1600/335517_342866582395094_100000152656200_1541118_1928642988_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5b6MURR9DPY/TxMGBAYKKmI/AAAAAAAAAFo/L_9FMOrzCmA/s320/335517_342866582395094_100000152656200_1541118_1928642988_o.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sam heading the band!</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> </div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TrTC4H16gzI/TxMI6JKWe8I/AAAAAAAAAGQ/i7xuwymGToM/s1600/325397_342868109061608_100000152656200_1541125_1899212589_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-TrTC4H16gzI/TxMI6JKWe8I/AAAAAAAAAGQ/i7xuwymGToM/s320/325397_342868109061608_100000152656200_1541125_1899212589_o.jpg" width="212" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Austin in Montreal</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">&nbsp;I left Montreal the next morning with Yacine, Austin, Ilia, and Dillon. The rest of the band had taken the bus overnight, or was staying in Montreal. We got to NY in the evening. The next day, I woke up and went to Carnegie Hall for a soundcheck and rehearsal for that evening's performance of Handel's “Messiah” with the St. Cecelia choir! I'm proud to say I had my Carnegie Hall debut at 22...</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hcP3uG5bXDA/TxMG0SqpqdI/AAAAAAAAAF4/HwlnrXZY_Y0/s1600/IMG_0049.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="149" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-hcP3uG5bXDA/TxMG0SqpqdI/AAAAAAAAAF4/HwlnrXZY_Y0/s200/IMG_0049.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Carnegie Hall from the Stage</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">&nbsp;The final gig was at Neha's loft in Brooklyn, also known as the “South 5<sup>th</sup> Collective”. We were splitting the bill with another good friend Ben Murphy's Large Ensemble, a nonet with a string quartet! This was set to be the big party/celebration. Sarah Safaie on bari, Blake Martin on lead trumpet, Andy Sharkey and Nick Grinder on trombones, and the lovely Martha Kato on the keyboard, filling in the spots that the Montreal crew had occupied. I worked the door for Ben's set, which was the amalgamation of an eclectic mix of all of the music that influences Ben. I've spent a lot of time talking to him about music, and we're both coming from similar places. He had been thinking of getting this band together for quite some time, and I was thrilled to have been a part of his first performance. We set up quickly after Ben's set and began to play in an environment that we've played more than any other: rowdy crowd full of beer.&nbsp;</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YhGGN5mTDB0/TxMIKR2TxQI/AAAAAAAAAGA/ctnsWac0kgU/s1600/335345_2868677161388_1393593405_3093425_1479104886_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-YhGGN5mTDB0/TxMIKR2TxQI/AAAAAAAAAGA/ctnsWac0kgU/s320/335345_2868677161388_1393593405_3093425_1479104886_o.jpg" width="179" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Neha's Loft</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-369BBaBIpZM/TxMIaBPjRjI/AAAAAAAAAGI/tCKj3Lm0Fwc/s1600/416600_2754184261475_1463739811_4440215_1109830604_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-369BBaBIpZM/TxMIaBPjRjI/AAAAAAAAAGI/tCKj3Lm0Fwc/s320/416600_2754184261475_1463739811_4440215_1109830604_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Dillon ripping it...</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">In a way, I still really love these performances because they feel more “real” as far as “big bands” are concerned. The setting is CRUCIAL to the presentation of the music, and I've struggled to find the balance between creating an environment where the listener becomes a part of something larger the music itself AND full fledged attention. It seems to me that if you give license to your audience to be free, you're shooting yourself in the foot a little, but I find it necessary in an event like this. The set went well, we played much louder than usual given the circumstances, the audience kept getting bigger, and the band loosened up (much deserved). After our set, we took apart our gear to make way for a band named “Population Control”. The semi-official head-count for the evening was 250! Not bad for an underground “jazz” band... </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">This marked the end of the tour, after which I was thoroughly exhausted, but proud and thankful.&nbsp;&nbsp;</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">There are so many people to thank... Hannah + Olivia, Rick + Vio, Carou +Felix, Mom + Dad, Grandma + Grandpa, Seb + Jack + John, Zoe, The Fairbanks, Raymond, Dillon, Colin, Cody, Gab, Sayre, Felix, Simon: All for either lodging, agreeing to sleep somewhere last minute, taking a bus, giving rides,&nbsp; lending their car, giving their time, finding instruments, the list of people and tasks goes on. The band's been thanked already, but it doesn't hurt to say it again. A WHOLE NEW WORLD! Kirk for the mentor-ship. Everyone who came out to the shows!!!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Things I found out/will not forget (this probably only applies to the touring band): Sam likes puzzles... Yacine can bro-out (he just needs a little push).&nbsp; Ilia's record-breaking run up Mount Royal. Kurtis' knowledge of every inflection to every vocal line in every cheesy pop tune from the 90's. Gab's ability to take double the traveling most regular humans can handle (sorry...) Cody's love of Montreal will ultimately lead him to move here. Michael's pasta.&nbsp; Raymond's fanbase in Toronto (haha!) Felix's range keeps getting bigger (and his schedule keeps getting tighter, uh oh...) Simon can handle a trip to NY without rupturing an organ. Ari can play lead! Levon is probably the biggest asset to a touring band just by asking if he can help, ALWAYS (plus he has a gorilla-like ability to tear through solos, despite the appearance of being more like a mouse).&nbsp; Dillon is a ladies man, it turns out. Colin is Dillon, it turns out.&nbsp; Carou is better at organizing than I am, hands down.&nbsp; Arthur can make any kit sound good, including ones with missing parts and thought-to-be-impossible 30" bass drums.&nbsp; Austin is Jondy.&nbsp; Matt probably never needs to have a music stand (he's got techniques). I will never forget Swift Current because of Sayre.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b>3. RECORDINGS</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_Bk8zmr5Nx0/TxMKpk-cvvI/AAAAAAAAAGg/x77L_e2GJIw/s1600/IMG_0026.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-_Bk8zmr5Nx0/TxMKpk-cvvI/AAAAAAAAAGg/x77L_e2GJIw/s200/IMG_0026.jpg" width="149" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clive Davis!</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i>NYU</i> </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">I've been extremely fortunate in the last 2 years to know amazing people and engineers willing to give their time to my music for next to nothing. The newest addition to my talented arsenal is <a href="http://bvaughnsulit.com/" target="_blank">Vaughn Sulit</a>. I had known Vaughn through my good friend Eric Read. He approached me in September about doing a 6 hour session at some point during the semester, to which I instantly agreed. I met Vaughn on the morning of November 19<sup>th</sup> at the NYU Clive Davis studio on Mercer and Bleecker. He had a team of people setting up the studio for that day's band: 5 saxes, 4 trombones, 5 trumpets, guitar, bass, piano, 2 drummers and auxiliary percussion! Eric Read was on aux perc, Douglas Marriner on the 2<sup>nd</sup> drum set, as well as Andy Clausen and Chris Stover filling in for the missing trombones.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-m2zYkFjJuWk/TxMRiFJNbJI/AAAAAAAAAH4/bsTtvaVZadQ/s1600/327858_342866155728470_100000152656200_1541110_272917030_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-m2zYkFjJuWk/TxMRiFJNbJI/AAAAAAAAAH4/bsTtvaVZadQ/s320/327858_342866155728470_100000152656200_1541110_272917030_o.jpg" width="238" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Vaughn</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5xVWVKK9m7E/TxMLZCvQlYI/AAAAAAAAAG4/vzB4arVmSDc/s1600/CIMG6670.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5xVWVKK9m7E/TxMLZCvQlYI/AAAAAAAAAG4/vzB4arVmSDc/s320/CIMG6670.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Michael...</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">&nbsp;I had to pick up a baritone sax from Sarah Safaie's place to bring to the studio for my trusty-everyman-sub Sami Bronowski. I walked from Alphabet City to the studio with a baritone on my back, and charts in my hands. Awkwardest instrument ever, kudos to anyone that devotes their life to it... We started tracking at 2:30 (miraculously), our scheduled starting time.&nbsp; I stayed in the booth with Vaughn while Dean conducted. We tracked “Speak Slow” first, without the vocals (this is a song I wrote to be sung by Dan Ellis-Ferris) and then ran 3 takes of “The Facebook Generation”. After a 10 minute pizza break, we started in on the overdubs; Dillon Baiocchi on flutes, Dan on the vocals (5 straight takes is all it took!), and Michael for one acoustic guitar take, and one electric guitar take (one-take all-star award goes to him, hands down). We cleaned out the studio with not a minute to spare (being semi-reprimanded from the administration for cutting it too close).</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5A0ACr0mIhA/TxMLAbVTu1I/AAAAAAAAAGo/nY71AxiZVK0/s1600/CIMG6674.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-5A0ACr0mIhA/TxMLAbVTu1I/AAAAAAAAAGo/nY71AxiZVK0/s320/CIMG6674.jpeg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Checking Levels</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i>McGILL</i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> I woke up after very little sleep (having just come from the Ottawa show) on Saturday December 2<sup>nd</sup> to meet Matt Baltrucki at McGill's Studio A. I'd worked with Matt twice before on McGill MMR sessions. He knows how I work, I know how he works. Good pair. The plan was to record all of “Hope”, which was to be released as an EP of sorts in order to raise funds for “Free The Children”.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wQyskapT2fQ/TxMM0UYAg2I/AAAAAAAAAHI/LTKeWRlpYDo/s1600/331224_342866235728462_100000152656200_1541112_1523882471_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wQyskapT2fQ/TxMM0UYAg2I/AAAAAAAAAHI/LTKeWRlpYDo/s200/331224_342866235728462_100000152656200_1541112_1523882471_o.jpg" width="149" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rhythm Section Soundcheck</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">&nbsp;Since we only had access to the smaller studio, it had been decided that we would split up all of the sections throughout the day. We started with the rhythm section. Great energy, great sound, great solos, things were looking good. At 4 o'clock the trumpets came in. Normally I would have had the trombones track second, but there was a conflict in schedules and the trumpets were the only ones that fit the time slot. BIG MISTAKE! We ended up having to go past our allotted time, laying on takes upon takes, for the sole reason of having to record without the rest of the brass or woodwinds. This took us to about 7 o'clock, when the saxes were ready to track.&nbsp;</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2TKNWd8JreI/TxMNMjAeZdI/AAAAAAAAAHY/P7KYmkB191k/s1600/339863_342866339061785_100000152656200_1541114_1354645469_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-2TKNWd8JreI/TxMNMjAeZdI/AAAAAAAAAHY/P7KYmkB191k/s320/339863_342866339061785_100000152656200_1541114_1354645469_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Trumpet Soundcheck</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">&nbsp;Things went by relatively smoothly, the guys in the section dictating what they wanted to redo more often than me (I was getting a little tired at this point). At 8:45 the trombones came in to soundcheck. They tracked for 45 minutes, rarely making mistakes, with great intonation. Say what you will about trombonists, they can lay it down... At 10 o'clock we began recording overdubs: Austin for certain piano passages, Michael for certain guitar passages, a very difficult clarinet/soprano line for Levon and Yacine (only to be omitted in mixing), many keyboard parts and sounds for Colin, and the solo piano improvisations for Austin. We tore the studio down just in time to hand it over to the next engineer (once again).</div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EHSoEf0yhk4/TxMM-_wDeII/AAAAAAAAAHQ/wqsMi4isqcM/s1600/335007_342866289061790_100000152656200_1541113_85197346_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-EHSoEf0yhk4/TxMM-_wDeII/AAAAAAAAAHQ/wqsMi4isqcM/s200/335007_342866289061790_100000152656200_1541113_85197346_o.jpg" width="149" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Arthur at his station</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><i>TALIA BILLIG'S “THE RIPPLE EFFECT”</i></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SKfCCEaYomk/TxMPfLjU59I/AAAAAAAAAHo/WJ-f_WDs384/s1600/337861_2277461660321_1362120146_32253892_1221328292_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="222" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-SKfCCEaYomk/TxMPfLjU59I/AAAAAAAAAHo/WJ-f_WDs384/s320/337861_2277461660321_1362120146_32253892_1221328292_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Photo: Shervin Lainez</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> Had I been smart, I would have written a whole post about this... I spent about 5 days throughout November at the semi-constructed (now completed) Bunker Studios in Williamsburg. We worked with good friend of the band Jacob Bergson as the producer, recording engineer, and mixing engineer. The first day was spent tracking the full band takes with legends Arthur Hnatek on drums and Dan Parra on bass. Subsequent days were spent on overdubs (I did all the guitar work, most of the male backup vocals, plus some fine glockenspiel and clapping work), and we had many other guests come in.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UrDs7wdmCZs/TxMO5sFs3MI/AAAAAAAAAHg/joz9la-6GlE/s1600/337329_199592343451818_119164881494565_428173_1293661733_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-UrDs7wdmCZs/TxMO5sFs3MI/AAAAAAAAAHg/joz9la-6GlE/s320/337329_199592343451818_119164881494565_428173_1293661733_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Raging Glock-work</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><a href="http://taliabillig.com/" target="_blank">Tal</a> had asked me to arrange an “interlude” she had written for the record, which is a beautiful intimate folksy vamp with a haunting melody that ends with an excerpt of a lullaby from her childhood. I originally orchestrated it for trumpets, trombones, tenor sax, and bass clarinet, but as we were constructing the layers, the brass instruments alone were creating the best texture. We ended up using 5 trumpets and 3 flugelhorns (all played by Ari Bragi Karason), and 5 trombones (all played by Chris Stover). The resulting effect is a warm-bath-like swell that I'm fond of using. If only I constantly had 13 brass instruments at my disposal... Ari played on some other tracks, Kyle Wilson played tenor and Nick Jozwiak played cello on “Goodbye” (Nick is on “Travel On” as well), Ben Van Gelder played bass clarinet on “Egress”, and back up vocals by Sarah Charles and Alena Spangler. More to follow when it gets released!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b>4. LISTENING/READING/SHOWS</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">After the tour I vowed to listen to music, read some books, and plan more future adventures for this group. I've since read: </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b>Christopher Hitchens</b>' memoir “Hitch-22” </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b>Jonathan Franzen</b>'s “Strong Motion” </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b>Naomi Klein</b>'s “No Logo” (currently reading “The Shock Doctrine” also by her) </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">“The Best Music Writing of 2011” edited by <b>Alex Ross</b></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">So many albums have made a mark on me in the last few months, I can only share the most recent ones:</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b>Bjork</b> – Biophilia (my favourite record of 2011)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b>Bjork</b> – Vespertine&nbsp; </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b>Arvo Part</b> – Te Deum (Berliner Mass)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b>Prokofiev</b> – Symphony #2 (Jascha Heifitz, don't know which orchestra it is...)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b>Daedelus</b> – Denies The Day's Demise</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b>Mozart</b> – Concerto for Oboe</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b>Nico Muhly</b> – A Good Understanding (still freaking out about this one...)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b>Bob Dylan</b> – Modern Times</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b>Ben Wendel</b> – Simple Song</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">I saw many great shows from September to December. The highlights were:</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b>Darcy James Argue's Secret Society</b> – “Brooklyn Babylon” at the Brooklyn Academy of Music. This show blew my mind! I've always liked and admired Darcy's music (I was supposed to study with him at New School but his type of visa didn't work through the school). If they end up doing it again anywhere, I HIGHLY recommend it.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tK3j_qWVEgA/TxMRKYwCy6I/AAAAAAAAAHw/Ft7bqmi50jw/s1600/IMG_0001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-tK3j_qWVEgA/TxMRKYwCy6I/AAAAAAAAAHw/Ft7bqmi50jw/s200/IMG_0001.jpg" width="149" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The stage at BAM</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><b>Nico Muhly</b><span style="font-weight: normal;"> - “Dark Sisters” with the Gotham Opera Company. Even though Nico is already being hailed as THE new young composer, I still think his work will continue to be recognized as one of the strongest voices in American music for my generation for the rest of his career. I'm willing to put all the marbles on that...</span> </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><span style="font-weight: normal;">I've met with both Vaughn and Matt briefly for the mixes of the two sessions. I'll be working on the recordings in the next little while. Congrats if you've made it this far in the article!</span></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div>Franky Rousseaunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8373239684778369937.post-72728501070802575852011-09-27T22:34:00.000-04:002011-09-27T22:34:36.229-04:00The Bike RideI'm currently in Kelowna Airport, flying home after an action packed and wonderfully inspiring week. Like previously mentioned, I was asked to join National Bank Financial's “Bike Ride for Youth” for six days and write a piece of music based on the event. In a nutshell, the employees and clientele of NBF are collectively riding across Canada to raise money for the “Big Dreamer's Fund” they have set up for “Free The Children”. The beauty in this program is that it enables leadership initiatives in local youth, and supports it with the money that's been fundraised within the community. For example, let's say a young girl or boy in Victoria raises 4000$ towards a sustainable development program for an impoverished village in Kenya, the Bank will give them 4000$ from the money collected in the “Big Dreamer's Fund” from the riders of the Victoria branch. Individual communities are able to support the work of their own kids helping others, which greatly benefits the people that receive the aid, but also creates globally conscious youth in our society. To be very blunt about it, I love this concept because the money isn't just being thrown at the problem and assuming results. I think FTC's work is outstanding because it addresses long-term development issues, such as education and sustainable development in places that are unable to instigate change without aid (while managing to create future leaders in our society).<br /><br /><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">My intentions, now that the ride is over, is to write a large work that commemorates the event and continues to raise awareness and funds for FTC. Fun, eh? (British Columbia is home to one of the variations of the Canadian accent, which I have to admit, I don't actually have, but has been the source of bad Canadian jokes directed towards me in the last 2 years.) This means I'm gearing up the Big Band for an early Deember tour! I'm way too excited about this...&nbsp;</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QzWxlkvJcJI/ToJ_BasvlYI/AAAAAAAAADo/ELq4vDSozM4/s1600/DSCN1156.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-QzWxlkvJcJI/ToJ_BasvlYI/AAAAAAAAADo/ELq4vDSozM4/s320/DSCN1156.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Represent</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Here's a de-briefing of my experience in the ride:</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-el5rNAxYosw/ToJ3sl6Hu8I/AAAAAAAAACk/7-nsDuKXGdM/s1600/DSCN1107.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-el5rNAxYosw/ToJ3sl6Hu8I/AAAAAAAAACk/7-nsDuKXGdM/s320/DSCN1107.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Passing Vancouver on my way to Victoria</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">I arrived in Victoria on the 6<sup>th</sup> with my father and 2 bikes. He had borrowed a Specialized “Allez-Up” from a friend, and we had gone out to buy the mandatory revealing lycra shorts, among other necessary road-bike nerd gear. I'm an avid commuting cyclist (it's the most efficient and fun way to get around in NY and Montreal) but I had never really ridden a road bike, let alone done a 6 day trip before.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hmmuLPpfhfw/ToJ9OTr8VfI/AAAAAAAAADU/cu-DRX_0SKE/s1600/287997_221205791269809_177217795668609_674396_964480923_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-hmmuLPpfhfw/ToJ9OTr8VfI/AAAAAAAAADU/cu-DRX_0SKE/s320/287997_221205791269809_177217795668609_674396_964480923_o.jpg" width="212" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My father dipping his tire in the Pacific for good luck</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">&nbsp;The first day was the Victoria to White Rock leg of the trip, which was only about 70 km (if that) because of a ferry ride, and quite a few unexpected events (see picture of the van barely getting through a cow tunnel. It's a long story...) I grew up in White Rock, and hadn't returned in 8 years, so after the welcoming celebration near Semiahoo high school, I decided to take a ride around my old neighbourhood. Things have changed. It's been commercialized (the apex of which is a Wal-Mart) and apparently the real estate market continues to grow. It's not the little town I grew up in anymore. I passed by my old house, knocked on the door, and the current owners were nice enough to let me look around! I then biked down to my old school, which was shut down soon after I moved to Montreal (I found out on this trip that it was full of asbestos and lead paint at the time that I was a student there). It's now been refurnished as a daycare, with the original buildings intact, as it is a heritage site.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-f89rzSbbwXc/ToJ5D_dz-jI/AAAAAAAAACw/ABl-UTS2cIo/s1600/DSCN1146.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-f89rzSbbwXc/ToJ5D_dz-jI/AAAAAAAAACw/ABl-UTS2cIo/s320/DSCN1146.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Old School (Kensington Prairie)</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-P1hGXlQEAGE/ToJ4KTlSt_I/AAAAAAAAACo/x1jhlkEufwA/s1600/DSCN1136.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-P1hGXlQEAGE/ToJ4KTlSt_I/AAAAAAAAACo/x1jhlkEufwA/s320/DSCN1136.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Truck clearance in cow tunnel...</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-s7a6fy-CESc/ToJ4RoWvQWI/AAAAAAAAACs/B0E8MPlRQ8w/s1600/DSCN1132.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-s7a6fy-CESc/ToJ4RoWvQWI/AAAAAAAAACs/B0E8MPlRQ8w/s320/DSCN1132.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Epic Flat</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> I met up with the rest of the team at a restaurant owned by someone at the bank for a dinner along White Rock beach.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aJEWTSEyDsA/ToJ5dEOuutI/AAAAAAAAAC0/VQ5jP7ilLQc/s1600/DSCN1151.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-aJEWTSEyDsA/ToJ5dEOuutI/AAAAAAAAAC0/VQ5jP7ilLQc/s320/DSCN1151.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">White Rock Beach</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">&nbsp;The next morning we departed from White Rock with a team of about 13 people. I spent the first half of this 140km ride by myself. The second half was much more physical, riding with the “fast” group.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-I6p9pxEjp-U/ToJ51ElOiLI/AAAAAAAAAC4/uReD2wRMEjU/s1600/DSCN1161.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-I6p9pxEjp-U/ToJ51ElOiLI/AAAAAAAAAC4/uReD2wRMEjU/s320/DSCN1161.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Hope</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">We arrived in Hope, and I ended up having a kooky experience trying to find a bus for the father in-law of the mechanic (Guillaume) of the trip. Hope isn't big, so naturally, the bus station closes early. I got an inside tip from a taxi driver to seek out a man running a restaurant who would be able to get a ticket for us... After being led to a back room of a laundromat, Alain (the in-law) had his ticket in hand, and I went to meet up with the rest of the team. I realized while eating that I was coming down with a fever (which I hadn't felt while riding, I must have been too focused...)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">The 3<sup>rd</sup> day was the Hope – Manning Park leg of the ride. This involves 95km distance, with a climb of 4000 feet! I managed to keep up with the leader of the B.C. ride (Trevor) although I had to work for it. Manning Park is in the middle of the path from Hope to Penticton, and there's not much going on there except for it's natural beauty. This may have been one of the most physical things I've ever done in my life, and the fever didn't help, although I managed to get rid of it within a day of literally “sweating it out”.&nbsp;</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1oxM-292oQ4/ToJ6I4xSYAI/AAAAAAAAAC8/wF5kXRBhE9s/s1600/DSCN1174.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-1oxM-292oQ4/ToJ6I4xSYAI/AAAAAAAAAC8/wF5kXRBhE9s/s320/DSCN1174.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">We started the day at 40 feet above sea level</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">The 4<sup>th</sup> day was the longest ride, and the low point in the trip for me. We were geared up for a 170 km ride, the team this day being myself, Trevor, and two new members Pierre and Steve. This was a group of true cyclists. Trevor competes, Steve rode 5000 km this summer and felt like it was very little, Pierre has done the Iron-Man Triathlon. The beginning of the ride was total payoff for having ridden purely uphill for an entire day. After an hour of riding, we hit the downhill portion of the mountain. My highest speed was 67km an hour, which apparently is not very fast for a real cyclist, especially on the hills we were riding. After a snack break, the team decided that we would ride in formation for the next portion of the ride. They asked me how experienced I was in formation riding, I answered “not at all”, and they went through the procedures/hand signals I needed to know.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FpUVlGRamjI/ToJ9jTYzRbI/AAAAAAAAADY/3SoXeOI7i7k/s1600/299994_221805804543141_177217795668609_676075_2093397581_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-FpUVlGRamjI/ToJ9jTYzRbI/AAAAAAAAADY/3SoXeOI7i7k/s320/299994_221805804543141_177217795668609_676075_2093397581_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Formation Riding (post-accident, hence my fear of drafting at this point, this is also a bad example...)</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">We got in line, I was in second. After a short while, Trevor signaled me to come up front, so I did, and began signalling things (maybe too many things, in fear of not properly doing my job.) After a couple of minutes, I signaled a baseball-sized rock that was right in our path, but I think it may have been too late, and it's possible Steve hadn't seen it, so he flipped over his handlebars, Pierre flipped over Steve's bike, and Trevor managed to “bunny-hop” over Steve! I heard all of this behind me, stopped immediately and got in the middle of the road to signal the cars that were approaching to slow down, while getting Pierre's bike, which had flown into the other lane. I saw that Steve had gotten up and was walking around, although Pierre was on the ground and holding his shoulder. Steve kept assuring us that he was fine (although he had road-rashes all along his left side), but Pierre was clearly in a lot of pain. After assessing the damage to Pierre, we realized that he had fallen on his head and shoulder, so his helmet had cracked, and his shoulder was separated... He asked me what happened, I responded, a few moments went by, an he asked me again, so I responded. After a third round of the same question, we realized that he was in shock and wasn't in his right mind. Guillaume showed up in the van (he hadn't been behind us because he had been packing up the food into the van). There was no cell-phone reception where we were so they went back to the town where we had just left to ask where the nearest clinic would be. Steve decided to keep riding, knowing that he would end up being sore otherwise. We rode the rest of the way, not feeling too great. And then, the numbness began...</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DVFpNHX82D0/ToJ8HZpIAGI/AAAAAAAAADI/VlcPbKzH8-g/s1600/DSCN1183.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-DVFpNHX82D0/ToJ8HZpIAGI/AAAAAAAAADI/VlcPbKzH8-g/s320/DSCN1183.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Me, Trevor, and Steve arriving in Penticton</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">We arrived in Penticton where we were met by Pierre and his wife. We had a nice dinner prepared, but I couldn't enjoy it because a) I'd been responsible for a serious injury, b) I'd just ridden 170km, and c) I couldn't feel my nether regions. I express this to Trevor who tells me that he once had numbness that lasted three and a half months. That's when I decided I should take the next day off.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1xWB348E25A/ToJ7jwXsvyI/AAAAAAAAADE/gOaeftds5Wo/s1600/Screen+shot+2011-09-27+at+9.41.27+PM.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-1xWB348E25A/ToJ7jwXsvyI/AAAAAAAAADE/gOaeftds5Wo/s320/Screen+shot+2011-09-27+at+9.41.27+PM.png" width="255" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Pierre post-accident</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">The 5<sup>th</sup> day was a quick ride from Penticton to Kelowna, so I didn't miss much. I used this spare time to do more reading about Craig and Mark Kielburger, and to start writing out the ideas I'd come up with for the piece. We were met at the local NBF branch by a good-sized crowd, and given a presentation from two girls who had done FTC trips. We were asked by an ex-employee of the bank to go on a boat ride/wakeboard.</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">&nbsp;The 6<sup>th</sup> day was an 80km ride, and the team had grown to 14 people (not including Guillaume and Nathalie, the Velo-Quebec ride manager). This was the most beautiful ride of the trip. We were met by a large crowd in Vernon for a celebratory dinner and presentation. The two ride vans had to leave directly to Banff, and I was flying out of Kelowna so I was staying the night in a hotel. I met up with a friend from elementary school who lived in Vernon for the evening (I hadn't seen her in 8 years!)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wDu8_ofOk0o/ToJ8350IWGI/AAAAAAAAADQ/Ha4-QjW06sI/s1600/DSCN1220.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-wDu8_ofOk0o/ToJ8350IWGI/AAAAAAAAADQ/Ha4-QjW06sI/s320/DSCN1220.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bikes in Vernon</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oSmdwBieWis/ToJ8kLAYn8I/AAAAAAAAADM/DJq-D1XAgWM/s1600/296559_221808234542898_177217795668609_676122_829972481_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-oSmdwBieWis/ToJ8kLAYn8I/AAAAAAAAADM/DJq-D1XAgWM/s320/296559_221808234542898_177217795668609_676122_829972481_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bikes. Lots of bikes.</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> </div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">I flew out the next morning from Kelowna to Victoria, Victoria to Toronto, and Toronto to New York. (It took me a while to finish this entry, so it's been a while since my opening sentence in Kelowna).</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_6LFGI2lS4k/ToJ-SLF_RZI/AAAAAAAAADg/8CwbZvN9H5Y/s1600/316650_221807871209601_177217795668609_676115_1154176255_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-_6LFGI2lS4k/ToJ-SLF_RZI/AAAAAAAAADg/8CwbZvN9H5Y/s320/316650_221807871209601_177217795668609_676115_1154176255_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Gold Helmet. I don't mess around.</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CJ0j0aS7_qA/ToJ-HTRFIcI/AAAAAAAAADc/FmcgXM1vHq0/s1600/286914_221079441282444_177217795668609_673736_1122846681_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-CJ0j0aS7_qA/ToJ-HTRFIcI/AAAAAAAAADc/FmcgXM1vHq0/s320/286914_221079441282444_177217795668609_673736_1122846681_o.jpg" width="212" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">With Guillaume, mechanic-extraordinaire</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ws4wQXdcdWs/ToJ-mP1C7_I/AAAAAAAAADk/EOBppwVs86k/s1600/291222_221078704615851_177217795668609_673697_1519536519_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Ws4wQXdcdWs/ToJ-mP1C7_I/AAAAAAAAADk/EOBppwVs86k/s320/291222_221078704615851_177217795668609_673697_1519536519_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Beginning of ride (with both vehicles)</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Now, I'm on to the music. I've never spent so much time on a piece of music for this little output. The first movement is nearly finished, but it's subject to change drastically anyhow. I've let some of the band members know that the tour is coming up, but I'm in the early stages of getting everything organized. I'll be spending the time from now until the tour writing this piece, and we are set to record it in Montreal, put it up online and give half of the money we receive to Free The Children!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">I've been listening to so much music in the last few months, and haven't listed them off. So here are the notable records, without any commentary, in no particular order:</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Nico Muhly: Mothertongue</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Nico Muhly: A Good Understanding</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Steve Reich: Music for 18 Musicians</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">John Adams: Shaker Loops, Wound Dresser, Short Ride in a Fast Machine (Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Bjork: Medulla</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Radiohead: King of Limbs (and a lot of OK Computer, Hail to the Thief, In Rainbows, Kid A)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Ravel: String Quartet</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Paul Moravec: Tempest Fantasy (and others)</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Phillip Glass: Einstein on the Beach</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Charles Ives: String Quartets #1 &amp; 2</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">Brahms: 4<sup>th</sup> Symphony</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">I suppose that's enough for now, those are the ones that come to mind...</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">I had a fun gig at Rockwood Music Hall with Talia Billig's band recently, and the most memorable show I've seen since my return to NY has been "Chaos Manor".&nbsp; The music/sound design was put together by my friends Dom Mekky and Levon Henry. This was the official description:&nbsp;</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">"CHAOS MANOR is a live multi-disciplinary performance installation that seeks to capture the visual and sonic event of W. Eugene Smith’s 821 Sixth Avenue “jazz loft” endeavor 1957-1965"</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;">This is what it looked like as a spectator:</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"><br /></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BjcuySFkd-0/ToKGQf6HE-I/AAAAAAAAADs/Y0HqfUfHM4k/s1600/img_9307.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-BjcuySFkd-0/ToKGQf6HE-I/AAAAAAAAADs/Y0HqfUfHM4k/s320/img_9307.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mid-Performance</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> </div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pZr43g1apTw/ToKGaoQYf6I/AAAAAAAAADw/RG4QgaqE3PY/s1600/img_9627-1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-pZr43g1apTw/ToKGaoQYf6I/AAAAAAAAADw/RG4QgaqE3PY/s320/img_9627-1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Crowd from one of the "sets"</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Mh72qRaXcME/ToKGtdFtECI/AAAAAAAAAD0/uf4xwZVbcco/s1600/IMG_9124_31.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="212" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Mh72qRaXcME/ToKGtdFtECI/AAAAAAAAAD0/uf4xwZVbcco/s320/IMG_9124_31.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">My brother Matt on bass, with good friends Levon Henry on tenor, Eric Read on drums, and Martha Kato on keys. This was taken inside the freight elevator that they played in during the performance, which was open on the exterior of the building.</td></tr></tbody></table><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> Very cool evening, glad to have seen it!</div><div style="margin-bottom: 0cm;"> </div>Franky Rousseaunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8373239684778369937.post-91885663821620795362011-09-17T15:22:00.000-04:002011-09-17T15:22:17.976-04:00The DBQ Tour (and the lead-up)Firstly, I should apologize for the lack of material in the months separating this entry and the last one.&nbsp; I got up to some amazing things, and there's no good reason not to have updated this blog.<br /><br />This summer was basically musical hibernation.&nbsp;I left off the last blog post having just recalculated the events of the "big band" tour, after which I spent 2 months in Montreal, waiting for a visa to allow me back into the States.&nbsp; On the gig front - many with hometown hero Bud Rice, Talia Billig came up north to play a couple of shows (including street hockey and poutine to initiate Dan Parra, the great bassist of that band to MTL life), a really fun gig with Marc Beland's Beat Project, some varied situations with Rick Rosato (holy shit, that's all I can say), a great NY return with Jeni Chandler (double-bill with Sam Anning's band!), among others. &nbsp;I spent a great deal of time discovering new music, analyzing, and reflecting about the upcoming compositions I want to put down on paper (or computer, rather...) <br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-paQTZiNle_0/TnTwdMp1gwI/AAAAAAAAACg/syRTbHApS_8/s1600/256666_10150295263081729_502156728_9025035_5831893_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-paQTZiNle_0/TnTwdMp1gwI/AAAAAAAAACg/syRTbHApS_8/s320/256666_10150295263081729_502156728_9025035_5831893_o.jpg" width="238" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Bud Rice and the Black Flies</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />Some notable events:<br />1) I got a job offer at my favourite record label, which didn't end up working out, but I was extremely flattered to have been considered.<br /><br />2) I had a "lesson" with Ben Wendel when he was on tour in Montreal, which was a total eye-opener for me as far as my trajectory as a musician is concerned.<br /><br />3) I've been making music alongside Dominic Mekky for a documentary being made by Todd Lambrix, a Parsons teacher, and Alexandra Garkavenko, a Parsons student. &nbsp;The film follows the experience of 5 students at the New School, and will continue to do so over 4 more years. &nbsp;I believe the premiere is in October, I will post the exact date when it's confirmed.<br /><br />4) I went to Vancouver for a week to visit a dearly beloved.<br /><br />5) I moved to Park Slope, Brooklyn. <br /><br />5) I went on tour with Dillon Baiocchi's Quintet in California. That's what I'd like to talk about.<br /><br />The band was/is:<br />Dillon Baiocchi - Alto (U.S.A.)<br />Me - Guitar (Canada)<br />Sami Bronowski - Tenor (France)<br />Max Esquivel - Electric Bass (Costa Rica)<br />Douglas Marriner - Drums (England)<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oEeaVzd9vgg/TnOeGim4KOI/AAAAAAAAACE/I0z4ndTGcbw/s1600/302453_2359038740975_1400487064_32814536_1784163_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="233" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-oEeaVzd9vgg/TnOeGim4KOI/AAAAAAAAACE/I0z4ndTGcbw/s320/302453_2359038740975_1400487064_32814536_1784163_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jonesy Photo Shoot</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />We left NY together on August 20th, arriving in Santa Cruz (land of the "gnarly") that evening. &nbsp;Dillon's family friends (the Fitz's) had a little guest house in their backyard where we stayed. &nbsp;The beginning of the week was spent playing a radio show (I forget the name of the network), playing a clinic at Soquel High School, rehearsing a ton, and exploring the city. This included beach hangs, going on a BYOB sailboat, BBQ's, going to the boardwalk (the famous Bronowski/Rollercoaster incident, you can ask me about it personally), and more BBQ's.<br /><br />The first and most important gig was at the famous Kuumbwa Jazz Centre on the 25th. &nbsp;Right before soundcheck we were invited to a studio right next door to have our pictures taken by an eccentric man named Jonesy. &nbsp;The studio was massive, and FULL of lights, cameras, lenses, prints, gobos, ect.&nbsp; Here's another one from that shoot:<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6MpATnKgM_s/TnTv-jJgpnI/AAAAAAAAACc/d3EHOgdZQUk/s1600/302193_2359029820752_1400487064_32814516_1568056_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="216" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6MpATnKgM_s/TnTv-jJgpnI/AAAAAAAAACc/d3EHOgdZQUk/s320/302193_2359029820752_1400487064_32814516_1568056_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jonesy Photo Shoot</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br />We proceeded to soundcheck, where Doug managed to convince the owners to let him play on the house Craviotto kit. <br /><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eDnEe4hTY5s/TnOf0Y8SxdI/AAAAAAAAACY/yIzEdnbXigY/s1600/IMG_0343.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-eDnEe4hTY5s/TnOf0Y8SxdI/AAAAAAAAACY/yIzEdnbXigY/s320/IMG_0343.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Drum-Gear-Nerd shot</td></tr></tbody></table><br />&nbsp;We played two sets to a wonderfully attentive audience, and a post-gig run-down confirmed that we all felt this was the best the band had ever sounded. &nbsp;Dillon's music is many things; intricate, beautiful, dark, lyrical, polyrhythmic, the list goes on. &nbsp;It's also very difficult. &nbsp;It's taken many months for the band to sink into it's sound and act as one unit. This tour was the best way to get it together. &nbsp;We were able to talk about our personal approaches to the music, where each of us felt comfortable and uncomfortable, and build a sense of musical trust within the band. &nbsp;All summed up in an evening's work. It sounds that way on the recording as well.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-K1X8kYcYSRc/TnOeSEwavGI/AAAAAAAAACI/xX5HwtXwNN0/s1600/293544_2359085142135_1400487064_32814619_4993113_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="188" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-K1X8kYcYSRc/TnOeSEwavGI/AAAAAAAAACI/xX5HwtXwNN0/s320/293544_2359085142135_1400487064_32814619_4993113_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kuumbwa Jazz Centre w/ DBQ Quintet</td></tr></tbody></table><br />Friday, we visited San Francisco and I met up with my good friend Sara Knox. Amazing city, it was too bad there was so much fog (I couldn't see Alcatraz or the Golden Gate Bridge). &nbsp;Regardless, I had a blast walking around and getting a feel for the place. I know I'll be back soon. &nbsp;Saturday night we played at a venue called Senzala, the gig went well but wasn't as well attended as we would have hoped. &nbsp;We stayed the night in San Raphael, at another friend of Dillon's family. &nbsp;I don't think I can stress this enough: we were treated like royalty the entire trip. Every meal was fantastic, everyone was generous and hospitable, and we moved from palace to palace (at least in my eyes).<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4-htUqEmd3Q/TnOea356kGI/AAAAAAAAACM/jW3Mdt3bSIc/s1600/IMG_9315.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-4-htUqEmd3Q/TnOea356kGI/AAAAAAAAACM/jW3Mdt3bSIc/s320/IMG_9315.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Post-Senzala gig (Hence the sweat)</td></tr></tbody></table><br />It became clear that with the effect of hurricane Irene, we would not be able to fly back to NY for several days. &nbsp;We played a fun gig in Berkeley at Cioccolata di Vino, and afterwards walked around the Berkeley campus (where my friend Sara has just begun her doctorate). &nbsp;The radio station had invited us back, where Dillon, in between performances, openly announced our availability to work due to the hurricane delay. &nbsp;We managed to get another gig at the Bargetto Winery on the Wednesday, where in addition to monetary payment, we got loads of wine and a lesson in wine etiquette! The days in between were filled with more beaching, hiking, surfing, boardwalking, etc. &nbsp;By the way, although this is uncommon for a local Santa Cruzian, we saw a whale, dolphins every time we went to the beach, &nbsp;seals, sea lions, and sea otters. &nbsp;The gig at the Winery went well, in addition to payment, we got a lesson in wine tasting, and an offer to be flown back for the big winery events!<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RXFRmcR2pAg/TnOelzXnrEI/AAAAAAAAACQ/YAzGot3kSY0/s1600/IMG_0373.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-RXFRmcR2pAg/TnOelzXnrEI/AAAAAAAAACQ/YAzGot3kSY0/s320/IMG_0373.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Santa Cruz Sunset #1</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2434Wzm5QOg/TnOeyU5wzFI/AAAAAAAAACU/6gd76WvmmC4/s1600/IMG_0370.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-2434Wzm5QOg/TnOeyU5wzFI/AAAAAAAAACU/6gd76WvmmC4/s320/IMG_0370.JPG" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Santa Cruz Sunset #2</td></tr></tbody></table>We flew back on the Thursday without incident, re-listening to the recording of the show and further discussing the music. &nbsp;The band is only going to continue to grow, and I know Dillon's music is evolving into a really unique sound and concept. I'm looking forward to more playing and touring with this amazing band. &nbsp;On a side note, I've never laughed so hard in my life. Put a Frenchman and and Englishman together in the same room for more than a week and you're bound to get results. &nbsp;This entry has taken me longer to write than expected, so I'm cheating, but look forward to the post about National Bank Financial's "Ride for Youth" which I was a part of! I will post listening suggestions at the end of that one (I have so many...)<br /><br />Giant thanks to Dillon, Sami, Doug, and Max for this experience.Franky Rousseaunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8373239684778369937.post-15859366072315497742011-05-29T14:24:00.000-04:002011-05-29T14:24:27.275-04:00The (Mini) Tour<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gb9pw-rUBUw/TeKLOr8ZDXI/AAAAAAAAABc/U4pHbpNvoSw/s1600/225703_1689116441267_1638390086_1492403_6471501_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-gb9pw-rUBUw/TeKLOr8ZDXI/AAAAAAAAABc/U4pHbpNvoSw/s320/225703_1689116441267_1638390086_1492403_6471501_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />The decision to bring the big band out on a small tour came to Sammy Miller and I after receiving some news that came to me as a surprise regarding my plans in the upcoming year.&nbsp; We had decided that bringing our projects out on the road would be the perfect start to what would be my first year out of school.&nbsp; We met for lunch on April 17th and talked through the possibilities, prompting me to start making phone calls to my band members.&nbsp; I had a few factors to work out:<br />1. I had just applied for a new visa, which would restrict my ability to travel.<br />2. The dates would only work if we started on the 14th of May, which happened to be the last weekend of the semester.<br />3. We only had 3 weeks to co-ordinate venues and musicians.<br />4. We didn't have a van large enough to accommodate 17 musicians, and as far as I knew, renting one was out of the question.<br />5. I had to finish up my school year (which would mark the completion of my studies at the New School.)<br />The task was daunting, but I knew I could make it work as long as I had the right people with me. I bounced the idea off of my two instructors for the semester, Kirk Nurock and Ben Wendel, both of whom expressed enthusiasm and encouragement.<br /><br />I would rather spare the details of the organization, as the plan changed (to my frustration) too many times for comfort.&nbsp; I had a hybrid of the Montreal and NY bands, with "Sammy Miller and the Congregation" built in to my group, with the exception of Sammy and Adam Moezinia.&nbsp; From Montreal I had Ben Deschamps on alto/flute/soprano, Carou Johnson on trumpet, Felix Del Tredici and Gab Gagnon on trombones. From NY I had my brother Matt Rousseau on bass, Arthur Hnatek on drums, Dominic Mekky on piano, Cody Rowlands, Ben Kreitman and Francesco Fratini on trumpets, Levon Henry and Sami Bronowski on tenors, and Sarah Safaie on bari.&nbsp; This left some room for players from each city to play gigs without coming on the road with us.<br /><br />I left New York on Thursday May 12th at 11pm after a 20th Century Classical History exam. I had to go to Montreal to get my father's car to bring back to NY in order to have room for all of the musicians and gear. We would also have Ben Deschamps and Dom Mekky's cars.&nbsp; With me was my "significant other" Hannah for company. Anyone who has taken the NY/MTL bus knows that the experience is softened with someone else, which was amazing of her.&nbsp; We got to the border at 7:30 and waited until 9:30 to leave.&nbsp; Someone always neglects to be prepared and the whole bus has to wait.&nbsp; We got home, ate, and packed the car for NY with a turnaround time of 2 hours.&nbsp; We had a little hiccup right as we were leaving, as we found out that my father's car wasn't registered. My mom vowed to look for the registration paper, and we took off with the risk of traveling with an unregistered vehicle (I didn't mention this to anyone…)&nbsp; We picked up Felix at McGill, and headed south.&nbsp; When we got to the border, we had a stubborn guard who didn't like the fact that Felix had an instrument and few clothes with him.&nbsp; After asking us questions for 10 minutes, she asked that we pull over due to a missing signature on my visa.&nbsp; We waited for 45 minutes before being called up. The woman explained to me that getting my visa signed was pretty useless since it was expiring in 3 days.&nbsp; I figured it wouldn't be worth an explanation, confronting border guards isn't a hobby of mine.&nbsp; We got to New York late in the evening safe and sound.<br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-K3k4Py1Clss/TeKMXH-qqxI/AAAAAAAAABw/0BlqOLKMftk/s1600/225588_1689133641697_1638390086_1492552_2893477_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-K3k4Py1Clss/TeKMXH-qqxI/AAAAAAAAABw/0BlqOLKMftk/s320/225588_1689133641697_1638390086_1492552_2893477_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Michael and Arthur</td></tr></tbody></table>&nbsp;Saturday I had to finish arranging a chart for our big event on the 17th (which I'll address later.)&nbsp; Ben, Carou, and Gab got to New York at around 2:30, and decided to check out the city until the gig that night.&nbsp; I finished the arrangement and met Sammy and Ben Kreitman (whom I had never met before) at a beer warehouse in the Lower East Side.&nbsp; We were going to buy beer and sell it at the show that night for gas money.&nbsp; I picked up more gear and went to the McKibbin Lofts in Bushwick, Brooklyn.&nbsp; We were having the show at Ben, Nelsen, and Alex's loft, who were extremely generous in letting us use their home for the evening.&nbsp; They all helped me setup, and the band started arriving.&nbsp; We had Derek Ganong and Sam Neufeld on trumpets, Matthew Hartnett and Andy Sharkey on trombones, Yacine Boulares on tenor, and Michael Valeanu on guitar filling up the spots of musicians not coming on the road (some of them couldn't come for passport reasons, others had prior gigs/recordings to attend.) As a special bonus, my favourite people in their respected roles made it out: Dean Buck came to conduct, and Dan Ellis-Ferris came to sing. This also meant I could play guitar alongside Michael!&nbsp; The show was just as much fun as the last loft show we had put on in December.&nbsp; We played our set with the crowd jammed right up to where the musicians were playing, with dancing and hollering.&nbsp; I have to admit I've never had as much fun playing with the band than in the back next to Arthur, Michael, Matt and Dom.&nbsp; After we finished, "Sammy Miller and the Congregation" went on and played a great set, with everyone else dancing and participating in the music. They were joined by Josh Crumbly on bass, and Ben Flocks on tenor, both amazing players and human beings.&nbsp; As people started trickling out, I began packing the car for the next morning, which was set to be an early departure.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6VSyGwB47iw/TeKLaxccu9I/AAAAAAAAABg/oqRLczhVj34/s1600/226719_1689113841202_1638390086_1492384_1704096_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-6VSyGwB47iw/TeKLaxccu9I/AAAAAAAAABg/oqRLczhVj34/s320/226719_1689113841202_1638390086_1492384_1704096_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">NY!</td></tr></tbody></table><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Jpd8lFvOYX4/TeKNEGItmiI/AAAAAAAAAB8/mNXCNXXmxCs/s1600/222739_1689120761375_1638390086_1492439_1295410_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="213" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Jpd8lFvOYX4/TeKNEGItmiI/AAAAAAAAAB8/mNXCNXXmxCs/s320/222739_1689120761375_1638390086_1492439_1295410_n.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Sammy Miller and the Congregation (with Ben Flocks and Josh Crumbly)</td></tr></tbody></table>The plan Sunday morning was to meet at 8:30 in front of the New School.&nbsp; I expected some exceptions.&nbsp; Everyone was accounted for (Dom was woken up by a phone call, which wasn't surprising…) except for Adam.&nbsp; We had joked the night before that he would be most likely to not wake up.&nbsp; Sure enough, he had slept through his alarm so we decided to leave his guitar at the New School and depart without him after having waited an hour.&nbsp; We made our way in three cars filled with people and equipment to Ithaca.&nbsp; The car ride was filled with sharing of music and stories, and although most people had gotten 3 hours of sleep (myself included), we were all excited for the days to come.&nbsp; Somewhere along the way, Adam had called Sammy to tell him he was on a bus to Ithaca. We didn't have room for him but he was already on his way…&nbsp; We arrived in Ithaca right for our 2:30 soundcheck (the show was an afternoon performance).<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SMJ0ZeYMiAM/TeKLpqv4_ZI/AAAAAAAAABk/q8k7DDBPNIs/s1600/259094_2000826548003_1463739811_3827072_5678244_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-SMJ0ZeYMiAM/TeKLpqv4_ZI/AAAAAAAAABk/q8k7DDBPNIs/s320/259094_2000826548003_1463739811_3827072_5678244_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Setting up at Bar 9 in Ithaca</td></tr></tbody></table>&nbsp;The venue was a student bar (Ithaca is a college town as far as I can tell, host to Cornell University) which has live music on weekends.&nbsp; The sign in front had the listings of the previous weekend's acts, although we weren't mentioned.&nbsp; We set up on the stage, barely fitting (even with our "reduced" big band) and waited for people to show.&nbsp; It was rainy and finals week was coming up for the Cornell students which wasn't an ideal situation for us.&nbsp; Groups of people started coming in, and we started to play.&nbsp; My hunch at the time was that the student who had arranged the event simply hadn't advertised the show, and had convinced her friends to come.&nbsp; I later had this confirmed by Sammy who spoke to her after we had left.&nbsp; The band sounded good though, and I wasn't deterred in the slightest by having a small audience.&nbsp; Sammy's band went up immediately after, with me subbing on guitar (Adam hadn't arrived yet).&nbsp; Sammy has a natural ability to make audiences loosen up and laugh, which made his set really enjoyable for everyone there.&nbsp; After his set finished, the people in my car and in Ben's car all decided that it would be best to drive straight to Montreal.&nbsp; The musicians in Dom's car were tired of driving and wanted to stay the night in Ithaca.&nbsp; As we were packing up the equipment, Adam showed up with his "other" guitar, a laundry bag, and a messy mohawk that he'd gotten the night before. Suffice it to say, it was hilarious.&nbsp; We then had to tell him that there was no room for him or his stuff in any of the cars, and that he would have to take the train to Montreal the next morning…&nbsp; If he had listened to what we told him (to go straight to Montreal and meet us there) none of this would have been a problem.&nbsp; I have to add that if it been anyone but Adam this would have been a weird conversation.&nbsp; The whole band laughed at him, and went back on the road.&nbsp; The guys staying in Ithaca had their sleeping arrangements changed on them last minute, so they ended up sleeping on dorm room beds/couches/floors (Adam of course being the one on the floor).&nbsp; We arrived in Montreal around midnight.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5zaGOQ4jlMg/TeKLzNPOmkI/AAAAAAAAABo/NPbZmvP56-E/s1600/242405_2000852428650_1463739811_3827094_8123102_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-5zaGOQ4jlMg/TeKLzNPOmkI/AAAAAAAAABo/NPbZmvP56-E/s320/242405_2000852428650_1463739811_3827094_8123102_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">FACE performance (as people started coming in)</td></tr></tbody></table>&nbsp;Monday was my favourite day of the tour.&nbsp; I woke up and offered everyone that came down to the kitchen St. Viateur bagels to prove my point about Montreal vs NY bagels.&nbsp; The band members who slept in Ithaca had arrived by 1pm, having slept very little and needing rest.&nbsp; With everyone in the house, we were able to leave as a unit down to FACE (Fine Arts Core Education) high school for a clinic/performance at 3pm.&nbsp; We arrived and met up with the Montreal folk (Ben, Carou, Felix, Gab) and the others joining us until the following day.&nbsp; We had Dom Rossi&nbsp; on trumpet, Giacomo Smith on alto (Corey Armstrong played the Monday night gig), and a new addition Raymond on trombone.&nbsp; Patricia (trombone) was only able to make the evening event.&nbsp; I had contacted Carol Kay about a clinic, her response was enthusiastic and welcoming. She was my first "jazz band" teacher, allowing me to bring in my guitar over the trumpet and begin to take solos.&nbsp; She is owed a tremendous amount of credit for the path I chose in music, and the level of musicianship I continue to work towards. (I recently saw a concert of my sisters where she played french horn in Carol's concert band, and was blown away by the performance.) We were in the P-Scene, which was once a pool now converted into a small theatre.&nbsp; The students started drifting in around 3:30 and by the time we started playing, we had the most receptive and amazing crowd anyone can ever ask for.&nbsp; Having been a FACE student, I knew to expect attentive and open students.&nbsp; We played a couple of charts and opened the floor up to questions, all of which were a treat to answer (I wasn't prepared to hear such "heavy" questions, among them was "What inspires you and your music?" and "Do you find people respond differently to music in NY than elsewhere?)&nbsp; We then invited students to come follow the music along with the band members, or to just sit/stand anywhere they chose to better see whatever they wanted.&nbsp; I think the band sounded better at this performance than possibly ever. Maybe it was because we're not used to having so much focused attention from the audience. Whatever it was, I hope we can channel that energy again in the future.&nbsp; After we finished, the comments from the students and faculty were tremendously touching, and I have to admit that having a staff member/friend come up to me in tears was pretty powerful.&nbsp; The band went to grab food and beer during the break between the clinic and the performance that night.&nbsp; I had to meet up with Lina and Nicte, my sisters friends who had written the song that I'd arranged for the Tuesday event.&nbsp; I'd neglected to let them know how much I had changed the structure of the song, but they adapted quickly and after an hour they were ready for the following day.&nbsp; I met up with the band, gave them the instructions to the gig, and went home to get gear with Levon, Dom, and Ben.&nbsp; The show was at "Barfly", on St. Laurent and Rachel.&nbsp; It's a great "dive" bar, which always has live music of different genres.&nbsp; The band showed up slowly and we watched the opening act as friends and family started getting there (I hadn't seen many of them for months).&nbsp; We went on just before 11, having setup really quickly and in an unconventional big band manner.&nbsp; The music was different than usual. Arthur, my brother, and I had talked about the groove possibilities that were open to us in different sections and we kept trying new things.&nbsp; The set was energetic and well received. Our Montreal audiences have a tendency to be really respectful and subdued, and this was no different.&nbsp; I think Arthur really stole the show at this performance, I could see people's faces light up looking around during his drum solos.&nbsp; Sammy's band went on right after ours, and a really great group of people stayed around for his set, which was awesome on a rainy Monday night at midnight.&nbsp; Sammy brought up a singer friend of mine, Roxane Roy, as well as Cody Rowlands and Sami Bronowski as guests.&nbsp; It was also great to sit back and watch Adam play with them, rather than having to fake my way through the music…&nbsp; After packing up the gear, the whole band went out for poutine at La Banquise, joined by our good friend Rick Rosato.&nbsp; The night finished with 11 people squeezed into my dads car on the way back to my parents house.&nbsp; We also managed to fit 16 people into beds and couches, with one exception: Adam slept on the floor again…<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-W-w9qAkkpR0/TeKMNfSoY0I/AAAAAAAAABs/OLnPYQ60cLA/s1600/243284_2000863348923_1463739811_3827103_133882_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-W-w9qAkkpR0/TeKMNfSoY0I/AAAAAAAAABs/OLnPYQ60cLA/s320/243284_2000863348923_1463739811_3827103_133882_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">MONTREAL!</td></tr></tbody></table>&nbsp;Tuesday started with me going to the Hilton hotel in downtown Montreal to check out the space and equipment for that evening's event.&nbsp; This was our "anchor" gig of the tour.&nbsp; We were playing a corporate event, which paid for all of our expenses, and a little pocket money for the band.&nbsp; My father had contracted us for a "congress" of the National Bank of Canada.&nbsp; The chart I had arranged the previous week was to be performed as a surprise for Craig Kielburger, who is the founder "Free The Children".&nbsp; Anyone who's met Craig can vouch for the fact that he's possibly the most caring and generous human being on the planet.&nbsp; His work has landed him 3 Nobel Peace Prize nominations… He's only 28!!!&nbsp; I returned home from the equipment meeting to the musicians waking up.&nbsp; After a late breakfast, I collected everyone into a room and ran down the chart for that evening.&nbsp; We loaded the car and got dressed into our "fancy" clothes, and headed downtown to McGill.&nbsp; There we met mostly everyone else on the gig, and convoyed to the loading dock entrance of Place Bonaventure.&nbsp; We took a freight elevator to the back entrance of the gala room, and gathered in the "green room" for the setup.&nbsp; We had one hour to soundcheck and run through the arrangement with Lina and Nicte.&nbsp; After the soundcheck, we waited while some of the musicians played the "cocktail" portion of the meal (there were 600 employees in attendance).&nbsp; We were called out to perform the "Free the Children" piece, which went off without a hitch.&nbsp; Craig came over after to thank me and the girls, and invited us to play at the WE Day in Montreal in the fall, which would be an amazing experience! I'm looking forward to trying to make that happen.&nbsp; We went back to the green room and waited an hour, until the comedian "Sugar Sammy" came out to do his set as the entertainment for the evening.&nbsp; My father had told him not to hold back on any jokes, just to do his normal routine.&nbsp; I had the band come watch from the back of the hall, and we were laughing the entire time (especially throughout his more "edgy" bits which weren't as well received from some of the company men and women).&nbsp; After his set, we went on and performed a quick "Happy Birthday" for my father and played our material.&nbsp; I've done many of these events, and learned that it's often best to just play the set and clear out.&nbsp; There are always calls for old rock tunes, or people coming up to play air guitar no matter what the style of music or setting.&nbsp; We had one intoxicated man come pretend to conduct the band and ask wonderful questions like "What's your favourite song?" and "Are you a real band?"&nbsp; Since the conference had gone late, we performed later than expected.&nbsp; This posed a problem for half of the band, who had to catch a bus at 11:45pm that night.&nbsp; We finished our set at 10:40, and I rushed everyone with all of their equipment to two cars and sped down to the bus station.&nbsp; We arrived with 20 minutes to spare.&nbsp; I hugged everyone goodbye, with the immediate realization that I would not see some of my closest friends for a few months.&nbsp; I went back to the hotel to get the rest of the gear, and a few of us went out for a celebratory beer.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Lv4Vn1x4KrM/TeKMf-VwAOI/AAAAAAAAAB0/PRtQA79RVDY/s1600/240383_2000927990539_1463739811_3827257_3227003_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="191" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-Lv4Vn1x4KrM/TeKMf-VwAOI/AAAAAAAAAB0/PRtQA79RVDY/s320/240383_2000927990539_1463739811_3827257_3227003_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Setting up for the corporate event</td></tr></tbody></table>&nbsp;All in all, I have to admit that this mini-tour was a huge learning experience.&nbsp; I had a ton of fun playing the consecutive events and traveling from place to place.&nbsp; Moving an entire big band around isn't the easiest task, but I will absolutely do it again as soon as I can.&nbsp; I now have some time and space where I can write music, which is much needed (I'm back in Montreal for a couple of months for a visa reason).&nbsp; I'm currently in Shawinigan in "isolation", spending some time reading, listening, thinking, running, and writing.&nbsp; No internet, no phone, no people.&nbsp; It's a pretty huge adjustment from Manhattan…<br /><br />One of the large issues I've been dealing with is my self-imposed pressure to write new music that is "better" than my previous compositions.&nbsp; Having read the autobiographies of John Adams and Miles Davis recently, I am encouraged at the prospect of trying things in my music that feel natural and current, over having to squeeze in elements of the "history" that is associated with a big band.&nbsp; One of my mentors once shared with me an anecdote that has stayed with me over the years (I'll eventually laugh at myself for using the expression "over the years" at 21…).&nbsp; He had been assigned a creative writing exercise that was open to any subject and narrative, essentially coming up with a short story of his choosing without any restrictions.&nbsp; He had decided to write an army submarine story (much like The Hunt for Red October) and turned it in to his teacher, who told him it was well written but asked him what knowledge or experience he had with submarine life, the answer to which was obviously none.&nbsp; I've felt kinship with this ideal since the beginning of my post-secondary musical education, and my ability to express it without coming off as dismissive has gotten me into some interesting discussions.&nbsp; My question to listeners is this: if my group began to play repertoire of the 30's and 40's big band era, could it have cultural relevance for something other than a throwback to the music of those times?&nbsp; I'm not in any way undermining the beauty and significance of that music. I'm constantly thinking about environment, time, and necessity to all works of art, especially when I write my own music.&nbsp; Just a thought… <br /><br />Also, previous to the tour I played a really fun duo gig with Jenny Szelag at the Brooklyn Lyceum!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-H9vxxpu3pgQ/TeKPCTQG3rI/AAAAAAAAACA/D7Rn-2TeHiI/s1600/220213_10150241376453126_500343125_8573534_6292539_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="181" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-H9vxxpu3pgQ/TeKPCTQG3rI/AAAAAAAAACA/D7Rn-2TeHiI/s320/220213_10150241376453126_500343125_8573534_6292539_o.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />Listening-wise: I've been checking out a lot of Aaron Copland's music, especially his "Third Symphony".&nbsp; I've also been listening to Tigran Hamasyan's "A Fable" non-stop.&nbsp; I'm not sure if I mentioned this in an earlier article, but Baths' album "Cerulean" has been a highlight for me in the last couple of months.&nbsp; "12 Songs by Charles Ives" from Theo Bleckmann and Kneebody has also been playing a lot recently.&nbsp; Lastly, but certainly not least, Keith Jarrett's "My Foolish Heart: Live at Montreux".&nbsp; That's all for now.&nbsp; Thanks for reading this entire article!<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OEupfLgYwaQ/TeKMkqzKiAI/AAAAAAAAAB4/rhSSFvTCGBQ/s1600/257803_2000875189219_1463739811_3827113_6838749_o.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-OEupfLgYwaQ/TeKMkqzKiAI/AAAAAAAAAB4/rhSSFvTCGBQ/s320/257803_2000875189219_1463739811_3827113_6838749_o.jpg" width="191" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The Notorious Adam Moezinia</td></tr></tbody></table>Franky Rousseaunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8373239684778369937.post-89874455151518842812011-05-27T00:07:00.000-04:002011-05-27T00:07:30.093-04:00Bachelor's DegreeIt's been a while since my last update, so I have a lot to write about.&nbsp; The last couple of months has been spent finishing up my Bachelor's degree at the New School, and has been filled with great gigs and concerts.&nbsp; I played several gigs with Dillon Baiocchi's group, all of which were a blast. The music is really refreshing and the band members are awesome players and friends. I also had a chance to sub in "Sammy Miller and the Congregation" at Fat Cat which was a lot of fun. Other gigs included Andrew Mancilla's band at the Bitter End, Bud Rice's band at Grumpy's Bar in Montreal (as well as a surprisingly fun cocktail gig with my brother on bass and Rick Rosato on drums. Rick is the most badass bassist. Period. He also happens to swing really hard on drums, although no one knows this...)&nbsp; I was asked to play with the big band at "The University of the Streets" in Alphabet City (my hood!!!) for a New School series curated by Chris Stover, who is a new addition to the NS staff, and he's already made himself one of the most valuable.&nbsp; The gig went over well, although I have to admit that I'm not used to playing "concert" style shows with this band.&nbsp; I like it when people are free to move around and yell at the band a little if they want. I had more trumpets than usual, due to a new addition to the NY band, Ari Bragi Karason.&nbsp; Ari recently won the "Best Upcoming Artist" at the Iceland Music awards (yes, he's Icelandic) and is a wonderfully unique musician and human being.&nbsp; Here's a snapshot of the evening:<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ebQ_96wEeXE/TbXDzF-hP0I/AAAAAAAAAAw/Tudpn-8vvQA/s1600/DSC02175.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-ebQ_96wEeXE/TbXDzF-hP0I/AAAAAAAAAAw/Tudpn-8vvQA/s320/DSC02175.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br /><br /><br /><br />Two days later was my Senior Recital at the New School.&nbsp; My amazing family drove down from Montreal to come celebrate, and the turnout for the recital was better than I could have imagined.&nbsp; It made me realize how many great friends I've made in my little time in NY.&nbsp; I had the whole band + special guests play most of the large ensemble music that I've written in the last year or so.&nbsp; The band was:<br />Rhythm Section: Me(!) - guitar Arthur Hnatek - drums, Matt Rousseau - bass, Dominic Mekky - piano.<br />Trumpets: Ari Bragi Karason, Cody Rowlands, Sam Neufeld, Linton Smith, Francesco Fratini, Derek Ganong<br />Trombones: Alfredo Marques, Kurtis Muller, Matthew Hartnett, Andy Sharkey, Erik Saras<br />Woodwinds: Ilia Skibiinsky, Dillon Baiocchi, Yacine Boulares, Levon Henry, Sarah Safaie<br />Special guests: Marc Beland - drums, Dan Ellis-Ferris - voice, Dean Buck - conductor<br /><br />We had Blake Martin on lead trumpet, Freddy Gonzalez on trombone, Michael Valeanu on guitar, and JJ Wright on piano at the UOTS gig, but unfortunately they couldn't make the senior recital.<br /><br />Couple of notes: I had never played my own guitar parts with the band before which was both exhilarating and kind of strange.&nbsp; I was really fortunate to have Dean come in as a conductor for the rehearsals and the concert. I have to admit that my conducting skills are completely undeveloped. Dean is the man. If anyone needs a conductor, contact DEAN BUCK! I had to have Marc play drums with us, as I've made tons of music with him in the last couple of years, and watched/talked about too many Habs games to not have him on board.&nbsp; He's a total badass as well, in my humble opinion.&nbsp; I've been writing "songs" for the big band, and Dan was my guinea pig.&nbsp; I'm loving the process, and the result so far is spot on to what I'm imagining it will turn out to be.&nbsp; Dan is one of the few vocalists that I've ever met that can reproduce exactly what I ask of him.&nbsp; (I know this entry is just me speaking really highly of everyone so far, but I'm just being honest...)<br /><br /><br />Aside from the big band performances, I've been rehearsing for and playing on the recitals of 3 great friends and singers at school. I've already played on Emma Love's recital, and Eleanor Howe's recital, and am looking forward to playing Talia Billig's.&nbsp; I find the most joy in guitar playing accompanying singers than in anything else... Here's a shot from Emma's recital.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fCmbrtMOAzk/TbXMmj7zF4I/AAAAAAAAAA0/i8dFxvAfDwU/s1600/DSC02189.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-fCmbrtMOAzk/TbXMmj7zF4I/AAAAAAAAAA0/i8dFxvAfDwU/s320/DSC02189.JPG" width="320" />&nbsp;</a></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">That's it for now... </div>Franky Rousseaunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8373239684778369937.post-87373578456638803802011-04-25T14:07:00.000-04:002011-04-25T14:07:21.395-04:00Recording...The last couple of weeks have been busy.&nbsp; Let me start at the top...<br /><br />Like I mentioned in the last blog entry, the focus in February were the recordings at McGill with the Montreal band.&nbsp; It started on Wednesday the 9th at midnight at the Port Authority bus terminal, with my charts in hand, my brother with his bass,&nbsp; and my musical co-conspirator Arthur Hnatek.&nbsp; If you've never taken the midnight bus from NY to Montreal (or any midnight bus for that matter), I can't say that it's my favourite trip in the world.&nbsp; Having lived in NY for just under two years, I've taken this bus ride more than enough times to want to avoid it if necessary.&nbsp; It's not so much the discomfort that bothers me, or the dysfunctional phone calls I hear people having at 4 am, I can live with that.&nbsp; It's the stop in Albany, the stop at the Duty Free, the wait at the border (someone on the bus always neglects to bring a passport) which happen to always be right about when I manage to fall asleep. Needless to say, I didn't sleep much, but got to Montreal at 8:30 the next morning.<br /><br />The session was set to start at 5pm, just like the last McGill "MMR" session last year.&nbsp; The first little hitch in my plan was my complete lack of drums.&nbsp; My Montreal drummer Liam Killen was on another gig, but I figured I would be able to borrow a drum set somehow. I called him and headed down to McGill to try and "borrow" one of the kits in the practice rooms, much to Arthur's disdain.&nbsp; With Liam's help, I managed to get the better part of two separate kits down to the studio before anyone could complain.&nbsp; We entered the studio to find a crew of about 8 technicians already setting everything up, with MVP of the trip Matt Baltrucki leading the way.&nbsp; Both Matt and I had learned from the first MMR session, and as a result everything was ready to go before the musicians arrived at 8:30. We had another little hitch, although it was never explained to me, I believe on of my tenor/clarinet players Giacomo Smith had showed up to the session without his tenor sax... The recording began at 9pm sharp, the band being:<br /><br />Rhythm Section: Arthur Hnatek - drums, Matt Rousseau - bass, Julian Gammon - piano, Marc-Andre Giroux - guitar<br /><br />Woodwinds: Ben Deschamps, Corey Armstrong, Jarryd Torff, Giacomo Smith, Sayre Schultz<br /><br />Trombones: Felix Del Tredici, Gabriel Gagnon, Geoff Cronin, Taylor Donaldson<br /><br />Trumpets: Simon Millerd, Carou Johnson, Dom Rossi, Fred Bourgeault, Rachel Therrien<br /><br />On a side note: I had never met Rachel, as she was subbing for the recording.&nbsp; On the bus ride from NY to Montreal, I noticed a girl with a trumpet that I was sure I had seen at McGill before. I remember mentioning to my brother that it was probably her that was going to be on the recording. It was pretty funny seeing her walk in to the studio...<br /><br />The plan was to record all of "Somewhere In There" (yes, that's the name of the blog...) which is a 4 part suite I wrote in the summer of 2010, as well as the piece for the art exhibit based on Edouard Manet's "Le dejeuner sur l'herbe" for Le Cegep du Vieux-Montreal.&nbsp; The band had played these charts enough times for me not to have to work on anything, which was awesome.&nbsp; We did a few takes of each movement, with a few breaks. Luckily, I had my friends Rasa Sam-Daliri and Roxane Loumede hanging at the session, and they were able to get so much needed coffee to the band.&nbsp; Robert Del Tredici was once again among us, making the largest of his works to date! This is what came out of the session (notice the feet to the left of the picture to see how massive this really is...) <br /><br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SVlepzc1JK8/TbWqQCTgbEI/AAAAAAAAAAo/uzH1UENUPeA/s1600/Frankie+10+Feb+mcgill.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="216" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SVlepzc1JK8/TbWqQCTgbEI/AAAAAAAAAAo/uzH1UENUPeA/s320/Frankie+10+Feb+mcgill.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br />&nbsp; The session wrapped up around 1am, which let the band members make the last night metros.&nbsp; Here's a small clip from the session, recorded by Roxane just walking around during a take (the bass and guitar amps were isolated, and the electronic track was only in our headphones so they aren't being picked up by the camera.)<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowFullScreen='true' webkitallowfullscreen='true' mozallowfullscreen='true' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dyTwtmVqyNa9N1O-OG4Y8GirwXRlg6mrAVLgLZRWR22vDq8kgw1a_ErNutgCQRoywG8_T9j0noH8JdA0Dtqnw' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' FRAMEBORDER='0' /></div><br /><br />Friday was a day off, so I used it to show Arthur around parts of Montreal. Matt Baltrucki and I had decided to use our smaller studio session for certain overdubs and quick fixes on Saturday night starting at midnight.&nbsp; For this I needed Simon Millerd, Jacquie Christen on flute, Julian Gammon, Ben Deschamps, and Fred Bourgeault, with Arthur and Matt (Rousseau) listening in.&nbsp; The session wrapped up at 5am, with Simon being the brave one and going last.<br /><br />I had a gig Sunday night in NY with Dillon Baiocchi's quintet, which meant leaving Montreal at 9am, this time extremely fortunate to have my mother driving us back and hanging for a couple of days.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zKXdgg8wI9Q/TbWt6EHjrwI/AAAAAAAAAAs/d186ys3yBxc/s1600/DSC02128.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="180" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-zKXdgg8wI9Q/TbWt6EHjrwI/AAAAAAAAAAs/d186ys3yBxc/s320/DSC02128.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br /><br />Having recorded the beginning of "Le dejeuner sur l'herbe", I had just under a week to create the digital component. Here is what I sent in as the description of the piece:<br /><br />"The concept for the musical piece came from what struck me as the most important quality of Edouard Manet's "Le dejeuner sur l'herbe"; the juxtaposition of the "traditional" components to the piece in relation to the artist's intentions. In other words, although the subject(s) of the painting are not unlike anything the public had previously seen, the context was pure innovation. I translated this notion into a musical idea by using the same framework for the entire piece: the merging of a "traditional" setting (big band instrumentation) with a digital transformation. The piece begins with just one idea, and is slowly expanded/broken down as the listener realizes the music is heading away from conventional expectation. In the painting, there are several deformed yet beautiful components such as the use of light, the fallen fruit basket, the disproportional size of the woman in the back, the naked woman sitting across from the clothed men etc. I tried to convey this emotion through the harmony, which I based on French Impressionist composers (mainly Maurice Ravel.) I believe Edouard Manet had every intention of dismembering the Realist tradition while embracing its themes, as many great innovators in art have done." <br /><br />I wish I could have spent more time on it, but I had a deadline... The exhibit starts this Thursday (27th) until the 4th of March. Please check it out if you're in Montreal, I wish I could make it! There will be art of many mediums by 18 young Montreal artists. I had a blast writing for it, I look forward to writing music based on other works of art...<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">..........</div><div style="text-align: center;"><br /></div>Besides all of that work (including work on several other projects that are too absurd to write about right now...), I had the chance to check out a bunch of great music, much different than what I wrote about in the previous blog post.&nbsp; Upon coming back from Montreal, I was able to meet up with my good friend Austin Peralta, who just released his 3rd album, Endless Planets on the Brainfeeder label, which features Ben Wendel, Zane Musa, Hamilton Price, Zach Harmon, Dr. Strangeloop, and the Cinematic Orchestra with Heidi Vogel.<br /><br />Tuesday the 15th I was invited by another good friend Emma Love to see John Adams' opera "Nixon in China" at the Met Opera. We were given tickets by Bob Hurwitz (Nonesuch Records, universal badass...) whom Emma works for.&nbsp; Written in 1987, it is completely of our time, which is what I loved most about it. Musically, historically, instrumentally.<br /><br />That Friday John Adams was conducting the Juilliard Orchestra at Carnegie Hall, and I made a quick call to another friend of mine, Adam Moezinia, who gets free tickets to Juilliard concerts by virtue of being a student there.&nbsp; They played one of Adams' more recent works, "City Noir", which had mixed reviews from my peers, but I enjoyed it regardless.&nbsp; They also performed "Don Juan" by R. Strauss, and Bela Bartok's "Dance Suite".<br /><br />I also saw a show at the Blue Note, which I'd rather not elaborate on except to say that sometimes it takes a gig like that to appreciate everything else I get to see on a weekly basis.<br /><br />That's it for now, I'll be posting the recordings of the McGill session online as soon as I get them!<br />-FRFranky Rousseaunoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8373239684778369937.post-61020340273594840722011-01-31T01:18:00.000-05:002011-01-31T01:18:58.094-05:00The Beginning<b>The first blog entry is always the most awkward. I'll pretend this isn't it.</b><br /><br />Here's what I've been up to.<br /><br />December 10th 2010 marked the debut of the NY band at the McKibbin Lofts in Brooklyn, (thanks again to <b>Pedro</b>,<b> Bennett</b>, and <b>Mercer</b> for letting us use their spot!)&nbsp; I had a blast putting the show together, mostly because I was able to get the band to play in the sort of event I wish I could attend every weekend.&nbsp; We played our set starting around 11pm, which lasted just under an hour, and after the very last note I thanked everyone and put on Q-Tip's "The Renaissance" and let the rest of the evening take off.&nbsp; In most cases, the denouement of a loft party/show is the trickiest to control, and we've all witnessed these get sloppy (for lack of a better word.)&nbsp; This was NOT the case this time around. We pushed the chairs and stands back into the wall and an all-inclusive dance party began, leaving anyone with an I-pod to choose a track (once again, usually a TERRIBLE idea...) which turned out to be amazing.<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QANlamb959c/TUXctrfs7eI/AAAAAAAAAAQ/Agwl7VnOM0o/s1600/NYMcK.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QANlamb959c/TUXctrfs7eI/AAAAAAAAAAQ/Agwl7VnOM0o/s320/NYMcK.jpg" width="204" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is just before the music began.</td></tr></tbody></table><br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QANlamb959c/TUXdWHuZlQI/AAAAAAAAAAU/400jctgNscQ/s1600/NY+McK2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_QANlamb959c/TUXdWHuZlQI/AAAAAAAAAAU/400jctgNscQ/s320/NY+McK2.jpg" width="204" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is just after the music ended. (That's my brother/bass player extraordinaire gettin' some love...)</td></tr></tbody></table><br />As I heard <b>Adam Benjamin</b> say yesterday (I'll address that in a second), it's nice to have been a part of a "jazz" show that didn't feel stodgy or conceited as the music was being performed, and end in a celebration of sorts.<br /><br />I returned to Montreal for about a month, working on some "commercial" music for a while, and spent time at home for the holidays.&nbsp; I decided to organize a show at the end of my stay with the MTL Big Band before leaving for New York.&nbsp; I encountered some pretty interesting organizing conflicts, but managed to find a loft space on Mont Royal and Laval called "Le Space" which worked perfectly for the event (I have to give tons of credit to <b>Julian Gammon</b> (keys) for being my MVP that week.)&nbsp; I had decided to feature my great friend and member of the NY band <b>Arthur Hnatek</b> for the show, and to use every resource available to me; this meant 6 woodwinds, 3 tenor trombones and 2 bass trombones, 5 trumpets, guitar, bass, piano, and 2 DRUMMERS! It was great to have the Montreal band together again, and the show went over well.&nbsp; The audience was extremely attentive, to the extent where they didn't utter a single sound while the music was playing... Gotta love Montrealers!<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QANlamb959c/TUXi1aWutYI/AAAAAAAAAAY/FsjvKire7oY/s1600/MTLband.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="240" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_QANlamb959c/TUXi1aWutYI/AAAAAAAAAAY/FsjvKire7oY/s320/MTLband.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">MTL Big Band at "Le Space"</td></tr></tbody></table>I'm now back in NY, and have some gigs lined up for the band here, but the main focus for the next month or so will be recordings at McGill with the MTL band! My buddy <b>Matt Baltrucki</b> is a Masters student in the Sound Engineering program at McGill University so we get the pleasure of working with him and his team in one of Canada's best live studios. I'm very excited about this project, as well as the smaller room recordings which I'm currently writing for, which will include singers, the big band, and electronics.<br /><br />I've also been asked to write a piece of music for an exhibit at the CEGEP du Vieux Montreal. The exhibit is going to be a group of artists in several mediums creating a work based on Edouard Manet's "<b>Le Dejeuner Sur L'Herbe</b>".&nbsp; The opening of the gallery is on the 25th of February, so I'll keep everyone updated!<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;">...</div><br />That's enough about my own music for now... One of the main reasons I've decided to start this blog is to share the music that I've been hearing which fuels my writing.&nbsp; I'm often asked what style of music I make and the truth is: I have no idea.&nbsp; I think the only way to make any sense of it (at least for me) is to look around at the musical community that I'm fortunate to be a slight part of. This past week of shows in NYC is probably the best approximation of this that I can come up with for the time being.<br /><br />I got back in to the city on the 20th of January, and on the 21st I kicked off the 2011 live music concert series with my friends <b>Snarky Puppy</b> at Rockwood Music Hall.&nbsp; <b>Mike League</b> and his band had a residency every Friday night at this amazing LES venue,&nbsp; and they had decided not to play any original music and instead, invite guests to perform their material with them.&nbsp; On that night, we got to hear <b>Gordon Chambers, Mikal Evans, Shayna Steele, and Jason Marsalis</b>.&nbsp; I always have a good time bringing friends to see them for the first time just for the reaction on their faces.&nbsp; I managed to catch the last of their series the following Friday as well, the highlight of which was hearing <b>Ari Hoenig</b> sit in for a couple of tunes.<br /><br />A friend of mine mentioned that <b>Martha Wainwright</b> was going to be playing at Rockwood Music Hall (Stage 1, the smaller of the two venues) for free so I headed down early Monday night to ensure a spot.&nbsp; I got there just in time for the venue to pack up and for a line to form outside (I can't imagine that it holds more than 70 people.)&nbsp; Sure enough, Martha showed up with a guitar and performed for an hour. Her explanation for booking these gigs at Rockwood was that she had willed it upon herself to write a song every week, and to prepare unfamiliar solo material for an upcoming project.&nbsp; I've always been a fan of the entire Wainwright clan, and hearing Martha in such a raw situation was as amazing as I expect any Wainwright show to be.&nbsp; She made tons of slip ups with the chords, forgot words to songs quite a few times, which didn't detract in the slightest how much I loved this show (in fact, it probably enhanced it.) She is an incredible songwriter, and I'm glad I got to see her while being in the process of writing for female voice. I also sneaked over to Rockwood (Stage 2) briefly after her set to watch <b>Jason Lindner</b>'s band.&nbsp; I've seen them many times, and I'll always go see <b>Mark Guiliana</b> if I have the chance... I will definitely be back early tomorrow for another installment of Martha's weekly gig. I'd like to re-iterate that these shows were FREE!<br /><br />Wednesday night was a rarity for my usual NY musical excursions for two reasons: 1) I went to Carnegie Hall, and 2) I saw <b>Brad Mehldau</b> play an entire concert solo.&nbsp; I don't think I need to say much about this show, because the event speaks for itself.&nbsp; We had the amazing opportunity to hear him play Brahms followed by his own compositions throughout the first half (with Brad speaking after every second piece about the harmony, structure, etc.)&nbsp; I missed an audition for an ensemble by going to this show, and I don't regret it at all. He's an incredible inspiration to me and my writing, and I can't think of many musicians on the planet that I respect as much as this man.<br /><br />Thursday, Friday, and Saturday were another NY rarity, and one that I looked forward to ever since the last 4 day series last year.&nbsp; <b>KNEEBODY</b>! I missed the first night of the series because I was at the Mehldau concert (poor me...) which featured <b>Wayne Krantz</b>.&nbsp; Thursday night featured <b>Busdriver</b>, Friday night featured Busdriver AND Mark Guiliana, and Saturday night featured Daedelus (with Mark Guiliana as a secret guest), and <b>Tim Lefebvre</b> subbing on bass (Kaveh, the regular bassist was on tour with someone else.) This band is where it's at.&nbsp; Period.&nbsp; The good folks over at <b>Search and Restore</b> (I'll definitely write about them in future posts) set up this event in Park Slope at a venue called Southpaw.&nbsp; Here's what it looked like:<br /><br /><table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody><tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QANlamb959c/TUZKpJJII0I/AAAAAAAAAAg/iWxUr_Jfzb4/s1600/knee.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="207" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_QANlamb959c/TUZKpJJII0I/AAAAAAAAAAg/iWxUr_Jfzb4/s320/knee.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr><tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kneebody w/ Busdriver and Mark Guiliana</td></tr></tbody></table>&nbsp; These guys are doing it right.&nbsp; The shows all had this amazing energy in the crowd, which I think the band was feeling as well.&nbsp; It's not often that I get to see a "jazz" show where everyone is standing shoulder to shoulder in front of the stage, or you get to hear the most rhythmically interesting hip-hop artist or an incredible live electronic artist being backed by a live band.&nbsp; Once again, these guys are huge inspirations of mine, and I already can't wait until they perform again.<br /><br />8 days of music, each act/musician gave me something to think about for my own music.<br />&nbsp;I highly recommend checking out this roster if you haven't already.<br /><br />The next few weeks should be very interesting, I'm looking forward to attempting to execute my plans as they've been sketched out, which I can almost guarantee will not. Just like Martha Wainwright's set, I'd much rather they aren't.<br /><br />-FR&nbsp; <br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div>Franky Rousseaunoreply@blogger.com